I have to say that this book is just cool. I just got back from my first visit to San Francisco, and I am so glad I had this guide with me. The fold out maps are very clear and helpful. Even though the book is small, it hits all the highlights. I visited several shops and restaurants listed in the back, and I was never disappointed.

I've lived in San Francisco for five years, but I still get lost when exploring a new neighborhood. The comprehensive pull-out maps found in Moon Metro are so detailed, that they even include those hard-to-find alleyways and cul-de-sacs. I had friends in from out of town last weekend, and I let them use my copy. They loved it! I definitely recommend this series.

I agree that what makes them cool is the foldout maps. The book is also pretty small. I've lived in the Bay Area all my life but still manage sometimes to get lost while hanging out in the city. I can put this in my coat pocket before I step out and not worry about looking clueless in front of my out-of-town friends. For people who are just visiting, I liked their selection of shops and places to eat. They didn't just list the usual tourist traps. And the color photos inside were pretty nifty, they could be postcards!

It doesn't matter if you never go to San Francisco -- buy this book just for the sheer joy of reading it. Bonnie Wach has real opinions and does not dish out the usual everything-is-great travel-guide drivel. Her writing sparkles with personality, wit and humor. All the particulars for the places she writes about are listed in the margins, making the information easy to find when you're looking for it. If you have any interest in San Francisco or travel books in general, buy this book.

All I can say is that not only have I bought a copy, but I have given three away as gifts. It is great guide for anyone visiting San Francisco or for anyone hosting visitors.

As a San Franciscan, this book is the perfect gift and/or inspiration to entertain friends, family or even yourself.

The author's approach orients the reader and eliminates the clutter of the average guide book. The book also has a nice balance between indoor and outdoor activities that you will be tempted to do over and over.

This is the perfect book for those looking for both the obvious and the obscure in San Francisco.

I concur with the other reviews on this site. This is my favorite cookbook, and I have quite a collection. The recipes are well-written, good cooking and preparation techniques are given in conjunction with the recipes, and the results always earn me kudos! Can't ask for too much more.

I have given this cookbook as a gift several times and have recommended it to my friends who love to cook.

Best cook book I ever used. it so easy to follow, you just prepare the incredients as directed and followed the directions. you can't go wrong. I tried using other cook books but only get frustrated trying to follow the instruction, but this book has simple and clrear instruction, anyone can follow it. one thing lacking limited pictures of what you are cooking, but not important.

These recipes are for elegant, delicious dishes to serve your friends and family. They all reflect the ethnic and culinary influences that make up California cuisine, including tips from such people as Arnold Wong and Alice Waters. All of the food is fancy, but not everything is complicated: the Cambazola Apricots are an easy-to-make appetizer, while the Blueberry French Toast can be whipped up the night before for brunch. This is a must-own for anyone who loves food or who loves San Francisco.

What makes this book special for me is the "now" photographs. The book's editor/photographer has made a sincere attempt to reshoot the photos, physically, from as nearly as possible from the original, without changing the photographic perspective. This allows the books' reader to view and compare the photos and know that streets, buildings, and other landmarks give an accurate view of how the city looked at a certain time. Accurate directions and locations listed in both historical and contemporary photos greatly enchances the value and arm chair travelers' enjoyment of the book. Buy a map of the city if you're not familiar with it.

This book offers an excellent photographic perspective of San Francisco's past and present. Photos from the 1850's even up to the early 1960s (in the case of Diamond Heights) are shown along with photos of what a particular area of SF looks like today. While this book is a testament to how much the city has grown and changed over the last 150 years, it also shows how resilient it was after the earthquake and fire in 1906 that virtually leveled it.

It also makes the reader ponder a little about what life must have been like in San Francisco around the turn of the 20th century. Among the areas shown? The Marina district, Pacific Heights, Market St and the ferry building, several panoramas of the city, the Golden Gate bridge (during contruction and how it appears today), and Nob Hill.

Not only are the photos spectacular, but it also offers some history about "the city by the bay" and how some parts of it have changed dramatically and others might still be recognizable to those who visited 50 years ago. An excellent pictorial coffee table book about the city I'm lucky enough to live near.

Great History Picture Book for all Ages. Just enough reading to keep little ones interested. The pictures are bold and beautiful. I bought one for myself. Great gift for someone who loves San Francisco.

This is a great book for anyone who loves sea lions. The "characters" are so cute and the story is very interesting.

San Francsico's Famous Sea Lions is a must have for anyone who has enjoyed the sea lions at Pier 39. I saw the sea lions last year and I have always wondered why they are there, and now I know! This is a great book for kids and adults who love marine mammals and great illustrations.

As an elementary school teacher, nonfiction material that is informative and entertaining is hard to find. This book with its wonderful illustrations opens many doors for discussions about animal behavior, adaptations, and their habitats.

Vea's book looks at the issue of immigration from an unusual viewpoint, using mysticism, religion, and simple slight of hand magic to tell a story that incorporates not only the struggles that immigrants to the U.S. endure, but also the daily events that permeate the lives of all people. The story is centered around an evening of inexplicable occurrences, ranging from a mysterious murder to several fires started in the surrounding area, and expands to tell the story of several immigrants, whose unique experiences led them all to San Francisco in the "present." I thought that the use of mystery and the issues of faith and magic were extremely interesting, but what I found even more intriguing were the stories and experiences Vea's characters related through various methods. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and appreciated the opportunity to enter into a world that I have little experience with.

Vea has written a masterpiece with Silver Cloud. Addressing the very serious issue of immigration in America and the search of many for their place in the nation, Vea manages to show his readers the beauty and the ugliness of our country with characters who are magically real. The novel urges the reader to identify his/her own feelings about their own culture as well as the blending of many in attempted assimilation. Interwoven with this challenge to culture is a beautifully written story that allows the reader to suspend his/her assumptions about reality and let their imaginations run wild.

Mr. Vea weaves a fasinating tale full of symbolism. It is a unique view of of the world as seen through the eyes of tis observer of latino culture in California. His writing is more an epic poem than strictly a novel. A highly exciting work.

an excellent book with excellent reproductions. i enjoyed it.

After working this past summer in the Whitney Museum of American Art in NYC and being there for the opening of the Thiebaud show, I can certainly say that I have become filled with a nostalgic longing and a love for both Thiebaud's art as well as the manner in which he comports himself as an artist and as a person. I could have received no better gift from my supervisor at the end of my summer employment than this beautiful and gentle book. Though certainly there is nothing like looking at the works of art themselves, this book was fully capable of stirring my memory...much the same way as Thiebaud's art itself had a few weeks prior. This book is a highly treasured part of my collection of art books...truly a high point of my books in general, and I would highly recommend it to those well versed in the works of this gentleman as well as those who have not yet had the pleasure of his honest and warm friendship. ~greg

I purchased this book right after walking through the Thiebaud retrospective at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco. I usually don't like to buy books after I've seen the work firsthand as the color never compares with the paintings I had just seen. In this case, though, I was impressed with the reproduction color. As an artist I get to use this book to study how Thiebaud makes his works "sparkle" by painting one color next to another.

I found this book to be really good, but I would've liked it a little longer haha! HerInteractive has been coming out wth Nancy Drew games for the computer & the reason I wanted this book was because I have the game. The game was fun but there were differences between both. If it were exactly the same , then the game would be easy! Well i have to say I really liked it & in parts they really throw you off-track on who did it in the end!

Nancy goes with her friends,Bess and George,and her house keeper Hannah to help renovate an old Victorian mansion waiting to become a bed and breakfast in Los Angeles, California.Nancy goes not suspecting to embark upon such a whirlwind of a case with someone,or something, behind accidents in the mansion that cannot be explained.If Nancy doesn't solve this mystery, who knows how dangerous the next act may be.The only way to find out, is to buy this book and find out for yourself.I give this one two thumbs way,way up for the suspense that keeps you asking for more.

This was a great book the clues are fun to pick up along the way and there are many suspectes, EVERYONE!! but I think you should read the book!! It was great.

Every fan of the the Giants should get this book and wallow in the beauty of Pacific Bell Park, if you can't get there yourself. The park really is probably the most beautiful ballpark in baseball, a tiny little gem that nevertheless plays like a huge pitcher's stadium thanks to the bizarre asymmetry of its outfield (and a San Francisco wind that the park's engineering turned into an ally, instead of the vicious Hawk it was at Candlestick Park.)

But it's also a great collection of essays from baseball writers including George Will and Peter Gammons, and local writers sharing memories of the team and the long years of waiting in the cold and fog for a world championship that still hasn't come. Those essays are some of the best parts of the book, moving and nostalgic in the best sense.

The body text, that tracks the long road from New York through Candlestick to the drama of building a new ballpark without the safety net of public money, then chronicles the great 2000 season, is little more than acceptable, but in a coffee table book what you want is gorgeous photographs and insightful vignettes, and "Splash Hit" has that in aces.

Great pictures of what has to be one of the nicest sports facilities in the world. I've been to one game here - and as a resident of Seattle, I honestly think that Safeco is a better place to watch a game. However, no stadium can match the asthetic views and its situation in one of the most beautiful cities in the world makes Pac Bell #1.

Pac Bell Park is one of the newest and one of the best ball parks in America. This book is a great tribute to that new park and the Giants' first year playing in it. The book goes into the history and politics behind the park and has a lot of good pictures of the 2000 Giants players in action. Peter Magowan and local and national writers also added illuminating essays to the text. There are a lot of spectacular pictures of the park from all different angles and some interesting construction shots.

A little disappointing was that the book did not have much on the Polo Grounds, Seals Stadium, and Candlestick Park. Even though the Giants no longer play at the old parks, their history is indelibly intertwined with the newer ball park and they deserved more space.

This belongs on any Giants fan's coffee table, especially if they have visited the park.

I believe that this is a good book to introduce children to the Christian faith. It is definately not a fiction. It lets us know and apreciate the passion, the sacrifice and love that our dear Lord suffered for salvation of the world. We celebrate Good Friday because on that Holy day, the Lord opened the gates of Heaven to all His people and reminds us how a wonderful God humbled Himself on the cross for the love of us to save us from eternal damnation. Any person who claims to read and know the Bible should agree with simple truths like this one. By the way If any Christian believes that the Bible is the inspired word of God, It was the Catholic Church aproximately in the year 400 A.D who came with the decision that the gospels we read today are worthy for the faithful to believe. The Catholic Church never deceived any one when it comes to faith and morals, but rather lead them to holyness and sanctity and prepare the faithful to eternity which all of us Christians know is the destiny of mankind.

I was looking for a "real" Easter book for the kids. Found The Very First Easter by Paul L. Maier. I can't tell you how much my girls LOVE this book. The format is a Mom and Dad telling their son about Easter based on scripture. Both the writing and the illustrations are just excellent!!!

This book follows the same format as Paul Maier's companion book, The Very First Christmas. Maier embeds the story of the first Easter inside the story of a 10-year-old boy named Christopher, who lives with his mother and father, a forest ranger, in a remote area of America's western mountains. As Christopher and his parents are sitting around the table dying Easter eggs, Christopher wonders aloud what the true story of Easter is. His Dad picks up the Bible and the two of them begin to read aloud from the book of Luke.

The narrative follows their discussion as they read, with Christopher asking questions that any child might typically ask -- "How do we know Jesus was really God?" "Why did they hang people on crosses, Dad?" "But if Jesus had a solid body and wasn't a ghost, how did he get through the walls?" Maier's format works well in this setting. Quotations from Luke tell the story, but the discussion between Christopher and his Dad explain the Easter story in a way that seems natural and easy to understand.

While the text of this book is quite good, what makes this book a excellent addition to the Easter collection is the outstanding artwork of Francisco Ordaz. Beautiful, full page pictures take up the right hand side of each spread. These realistic and detailed illustrations do a superb job of furthering the viewer's understanding of the Easter story. Especially well done is a portrayal of Jesus praying in the garden of Gethsemane and an illustration showing the women standing in amazement before the empty tomb. The Very First Easter is an wonderful book to share with a child, or anyone, who wonders what more there is to Easter than bunnies and painted eggs.