What a great book! Who knew books like this existed? One of my friends from college introduced me to this series, and I think I must have bought 200 as gag gifts (no pun intended).

I read this book this morning at church. A friend had it inher bag for her children. I could not believe it even after readingit. It brought smiles to my face throughout the whole book because it was extremely humorous to me. Having such a subject in book form for the young is a great advantage. Some people shun these subjects and having it in print and pictures is a wonderful idea. Since Terry is the main character AND a female - it shines light to the world that not only is it ok for boys/men to do this in public or have such a problem but females also are just as human. Our family kids each other about "tooting" all the time and my mom, brothers, son, sisters-in-laws, brother-in-law, nieces and nephews will enjoy this book. I'm getting it to read to the whole family. Anyone who is a kid at heart needs to get "Terry Toots" for their home library!

Being new to the bay area need not be daunting anymore. With this book in hand, you can go anywhere you want. All you need is an address. And since the map is in separate A4 size pages, it is very easy to look at different sections at the same time. No need to fold and unfold, no need to be worried about its getting torn.

The maps also have a lookup based on the house numbers. It will be the best investment you will have made in a long long time.

If you live in the Bay Area, the Thomas Bros. map book "Metropolitan Bay Area" is the one volume to keep by your side. It covers just about every single town and street between San Jose and the North Bay. If you're among the terminally lost, this is the book to have...forget those map web sites!

I have read many books about San Francisco and this will give anybody incredible insight into the City. If you had one book to read about SF, this should be it.

Traveller's Tales San Francisco is a very unusual travel guide. It is more like a collection of short stories set in, and all about, the most beautiful city on the planet. Each story takes the reader on a journey through either a specific neighborhood, cultural enclave, outdoor activity or unique "only in San Francisco" setting in a way that no other travel guide does. I am a local and tremendously enjoyed reading this guide because it was like taking a tour of The City without leaving my reading room. The story of the "in-line midnight skaters" swooping up down our wonderful hills was quite a ride indeed. Also, the story of a Golden Gate Bridge Jumper, who survivded was quite moving. This book is a must for locals who think they know all that goes on in their City.

Trees Of Golden Gate Park And San Francisco is a 'must' bible of detail for any San Francisco resident or enthusiast who wants to know more about the city's urban forest and landscape. Chapters are packed with details ranging from early San Francisco landscape history to the evolution of its parks. The presentation is based on the writings of botanist Elizabeth McClintock, and presents the stories of almost two hundred different trees located in Golden Gate Park. No color photos, but the depth of text and detail doesn't need them; the b/w line drawings are enough.

...that there should be people in my community as to write such a book. Starting with the park's planning phases (did you know that Mr. Central Park himself, Frederick Law Olmstead, recommended putting the park along what is now the Van Ness corridor!), the book quickly progresses to encyclopedic coverage of the trees of the park... Sections from this book are destined to become long and enjoyable walks for us in the near future! Unlike many field guides, very fitting for pleasure reading.

This guide is packed with great information to get whatever it is you're looking for in San Francisco. I found the book to be user friendly, down to earth, and honest. Since I am a vinyl junkie, I was thrilled to look in the index and find the heading for "Record Stores". This guide was extremely useful when exploring "The Haight", my favorite area of The City. Bravo to the contributors, and to the Manic D production team, for this great Second Edition!

This guidebook is a wonderfull resource if you're just visiting or planing to stay awhile. Each section is written by a different person, with different interests and perspectives (bars, thrift stores, piercing, poetry readings, bookstores, etc.) It also has useful sections on Oakland and Berkeley. If you're thinking of moving to the "Bay Area", there are handy guides to housing and employment. It's a great book, and worth every penny!

Yo soy atea pero el libro es una joya, por la prosa de Pombo, la sensibilidad con la que cuenta la historia y la espiritualidad de la obra.

me gusta la espiritualidad de san francisco y en general la de todos los mendicantes soy muy catolica y me agrada que haya gente que también lo sea

I love this book. I have done about 7 of the walks so far and they have all been brilliant. I am going to do them all before I leave San Fran in a couple of months time. The guides take you to all the most famous locales and sites with many good suggestions for shops and cafes along the way.

But what I love best is that the book is small enough to slip into your pocket. I frequently leave my apartment" with no other guidebook but this one. I really, really recommend it to anyone who wants to get off the beaten track - it is so much more fun to see a city that way.

Of all the guide books I have consulted, this San Francisco compilation of walking tours is the most diverse and complete. Not only are familiar and less familiar parts of the city covered, but also how to reach starting points by pubic transportation (vital for pedestrians), time required, degree of difficulty, and special points to note. It's a great introduction to this fair city.

Francisico is my cousin, and I absoultly love his book it was,intresting {One of those books that you can't put down } funny witty and partially autobiographcal but you really would'nt know that unless you are related to {javier} Francisco.So I give this book 5 stars not because he's my cousin, but because the story itself is so good .please if at allpossibly give Francisco my email adress lolik@peoplepc.com or please send my email adress to him.thank you from the bottem of my heart. loli

On the surface, this is a story about "making it" by renouncing your roots. In all these stories, the character is later brought down by not belonging to any culture. But this is not merely a story of a "home boy" rejecting his roots to make it. The message of these "stick to your own kind" stories is to stay put. What makes this tale different is that it supports the opposite view-- cultural amalgamation is possible and one can be successful in different cultural environments.

At the beginning of the book, our hero, Ismael, is on death row--Huntsville, Texas, where else?--so we know he must have been involved in some major mishap. Ismael's life moves back and forth on two oposite points of a personal pendulum: youthful passion for Armanda and his later love for his beautiful, upper middle class, professional wife. Ismael's narrative goes from one side of the pendulum to the other until he upends his legal career and marriage and tries to regain his lost love in Texas. Instead of recovering his lost world, he unleashes a chain of events that lead to death row. In the book we get to know Ismael in a manner similar to forming a new friendship-- a tidbit of childhood here, a recounted professional experience there-- until we grasp him well. The narrative reveals a great sensitivity to popular american culture. As one follows our hero's journey from mexican immigrant; to success in a catholic college; to his final entry into the inner core, Anglo-American big leagues-- Harvard, old boston law firm, beautiful episcopalian wife-- the reader cannot help but savor the wonderful texture of time and place that the author weaves into the story. Somewhat Navokovian, all the places and events that the author describes are vivid and familiar: the jesuit Spring Hill College, two lane roads in leafy Boston suburbs, Juarez bars, etc. The author skillfully captures a lot of the mood and feel of society...and yet those times and places are disappearing. His story leads us to a new cultural reality. One in which cultures and backgrounds amalgamate. As Dylan used to sing, "the times, they are a changin". Yesterday, success meant achieving Ismael's dream: the country club, the bow tie,and the gin and tonic. Things are changing..our new billionaires are from Bombay, Jennifer Lopez and Denzel Washington are our sex symbols, and America's sweetheart is Michelle Qwan. This is a country in which half the kids in Chicago's public schools are black baptists and in which Andover students aspire to attend jesuit Geogetown. Ismael's America of the 50's, 60's, and 70's is goin, going..and almost gone. The change to a more open society-- one in which one's culture and background will not keep people in their predetermined place-- may be brutal but worth the price. The novel ends with our hero's brahmin wife uniting with him in an effort to help him avoid the death penalty. It is this act of fidelity and solidarity by his wife that makes the final resolution of this tale different than the other "home boy rejects home in order to make it" stories. The Way of The Jaguar gives us the hope that Ismael can have his cake and eat it too-- he can make it and be accepted for what he is: an intense, intellectual, sexy guy who happens to be a Mexican dude.

I received this book as a gift, and it's become a permanent fixture on our living room table. The photos are spectacular, as is writing by Ken Brower,a knowledgeable and highly respected environmental writer.
I grew up in the SF Bay Area, and it was uplifting to read about how Sam Sebastiani has restored the wetlands on his vineyard. I wish all of the wine growers in California were as responsible stewards of the land!

I would highly recommend this book - and it would make a great gift!

Proof that our heroes are all around us. Stunning photographs affirm that we can save this planet from ourselves. The results of one person's efforts are reproduced in a neat, coffee table format that shows how even a mere 100 acre marsh (a former hay field!) can be transformed into a life-sustaining ecosytem that supports a diverse number of species. As in many of Ansel Adams photographs that encompass the reflection of the small landscape within the larger one--Michael Sewell has illustrated the importance of the "small place" as an ecological bell-weather of the greater environment. He proves that determined individual efforts do pay off, and gives us hope for the future. Text by the Browers, Father & Son, heighten this moving, life-affirming experience. Inspiring!

An absolute bargain for the price, 1000 pages and over 2000 color photos (and some drawings). What I like about this book is the very comprehensive coverage of contemporary architecture, not only the well-known, Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur for instance, but the (perhaps) unknown, Grand Valley Woman's Prison in Ontario or the phosphate plant in Nordgraben, Germany or the Scottsdale, Arizona East Couplet Street urban improvement.

There are five basic chapters, Urban planning and transport, Cultural facilities, Leisure facilities, Public buildings and institutions and finally Homes, these five areas are divided into thirty-nine sections in all. Each building gets a spread with usually one big and two, three or four smaller photos and some have architect's drawings (unfortunately the books small size means most of these are too tiny) a detailed technical description and a couple of hundred words about the building. For some odd reason the book does not have a building or architect index.

This would be an ideal book for a student thinking of becoming an architect because it shows the very wide range of building styles that require design solutions. For others, like me, it is a super record of some of the best recent architecture around the world.

If like me you love the glossies, then this ones for you.Power packed with over thousands of photos covering a broad range of contemporary architecture- commercial,public,parks,land art,housing etc,its a visual tour of world architecure, all covered in one book(over 1000 pages!).Although the book is only approximately A5 in size ,this in no way detracts from its value,particularly if you consider the price.Another great book(better in fact) in the same series is 'houses of the world'.