It's very hard to put this book down. Mutis resembles no one writing today, his prose is immaculate and his stories indescribable. He is one of a kind. This is a treasure; one only wishes there were more.

This may be the most beautifully written, wise, and fun book I have ever read. Maqroll is the perfect companion: he goes everywhere, knows many remarkable and delightful people in every spot, and speaks with wisdom, joy, and sadness all at once.
Each sentence is a gem: taken together, they create a world that transports the reader into a world of adventure, danger, love, friendship, and insight.
Imagine Cervantes mixed with Pynchon, with a little Groucho Marx thrown in: this is a work to savor and Maqroll is a wise and loving guide to a world of breath-taking beauty, where each day holds new treasures.
This is the closest thing to a perfect book I have come across. It is a true classic, as readers of Spanish literature have known for some years.

READ THIS BOOK! If Dylan and Pablo Neruda collaborated, this would be the result. Lyrical, funny, heartbreaking stories set around the fringes of cities and backwater towns. Do these places even exist anymore? There is a homeric quality to the stories that transforms the flotsome and jetsome lives of the charaters. I cannot say it enought, READ THIS BOOK

I'll be up-front: I've known Jerry for about a decade now, as a lawyer hiring him to do "research." It was his experience as a vice cop and later as a firefighter in San Francisco that forms the basis of his bottomless pool of material. As a fan of the classics in detective novels, from Sayers to James and Poe to -- well -- Kennealy, I find his Nick Polo stories of contemporary California society as compelling, insightful and readable as Ross McDonald's Harper series. Good, quick reads with versimlitude (like that Jerry?), lots of wit and action. In fact, I'm sure I know Polo's landlady!

Fortunately for us all, Amazon.com can get all the works of Jerry Kennealy for those who are interested. He's a masterful mystery writer in the Robert Parker/Robert Crais vain and his Nick Polo character is every bit as funny as Spenser or Elvis Cole. Kennealy knows his stuff(having worked as a PI in the Bay Area for quite some time)and he knows what it takes to hold a reader. I've been fortunate enough to meet the man on a few occassions and he's been a tremendous help to me in my own attempts at mystery writing. Give this man a chance and he'll make you a believer after just a few pages. He's a real buried treasure, but hopefully he can finally get the success he really deserves.

This was my first Nick Polo book and it was really enjoyable, Polo is a Mike Hammer type character with great charm and wit. Well written, I have ordered the rest of the series thru Amazon.

This beautifully illustrated and written story of a Chinese immigrant is fascinating in its scope, detail, and in putting his experience in the context of our California history. As a fourth generation Chinese, there was much here that I did not know about my ancestors' struggles and triumphs, courage and tragedies. Enjoy this wonderful story and receive an education.

If you enjoy historical books about Asian American or California history, this is a "must read." Lani Ah Tye Farkas tells the fascinating true story of her great grandfather, who arrived in California in the early 1850s and overcame racial oppression and other challenges to successfully settle in America. She then traces the fortunes of his progeny, and tells their stories through two generations. The resulting book accurately portrays the many struggles and challenges that early Chinese immigrants faced in California in the last century and a half. The book features wonderful family photographs, some tragic stories, and is fully footnoted.

If you enjoy historical books about Asian American or California history, this is a "must read." Lani Ah Tye Farkas tells the fascinating true story of her great grandfather, who arrived in California in the early 1850s and overcame racial oppression and other challenges to successfully settle in America. She then traces the fortunes of his progeny, and tells their stories through two generations. The resulting book accurately portrays the many struggles and challenges that early Chinese immigrants faced in California in the last century and a half. The book features wonderful family photographs, some tragic stories, and is fully footnoted.

A few of my favorite painters are contemporaries of Still, so I saw it as my duty to see the Hirschhorn exhibition. Well, I picked a dead day and had the show to myself and simply put I am now a fan. The book is great and David Anfam's addition to the book is especially enlightening about the work of Still.

I am a painter who has largely avoided Clifford Still but this book has turned me into a great admirer. Particulary influential was the contribution by David Anfam, the art historian who was responsible for the magnificent, award-winning Mark Rothko catalogue raisonne. Anfam's essay is insightful, far-reaching, beautifully written with poetic underpinnings, a pleasure to read. All you'll ever need to know about Clifford Still, his work, and his place in art history is covered in this essay. The color plates are also wonderful and, even as reproductions, offer a great chance to appreciate the paintings.

Clyfford Still is one of the giant figures of the art world and this book puts his paintings in a proper perspective. The book contains many color reproductions of his large non-objective canvases. Still himself wrote the book and gives us a very good insight into his life and thinking process. He discusses what went into his paintings and how his unique canvas numbering system worked absent dates and titles to identify his work. It is also a journey through his body of work. His paintings were skillfully balanced with positive and negative spaces and his unparalleled use of color is well documented. This book is a must for any art lover in general and for students of American art in particular. I liked this book not only for the well reproduced paintings in color but also because it let's us into the painter's mind to get a glimps of his true genius.

This is a great insider's look into San Francisco. Whether you live in the city, or are just there for the weekend it is a must have. The shops/restaurants are all broken down by area, and there are maps that will get you anywhere. There are so many unique places in San Francisco, and this guide has scouted them out for you. It would make a great stocking stuffer.

Get ready for this visual journey. There is no other guide book like it. I love the pictures, I love the descriptions, I love learning about the people behind their businesses. If you're looking for a new way to look at an old city - this is your book.

The Crown Guide takes a very different spin on a City Guide. It gives insight into various types of truly unique businesses in the City that are not the standard trendy places so often frequented by the SF crowds. From delectible new bars restaurants, to unique shoe and clothing boutiques, to creative home stores, the Crown Guide has selected excellent places to check out. Adorned with great color photos of these unique establishments and their owners, you get a great sense of what each one offers. As a San Francisco native who likes to try out all the interesting places in town, I've found several cool new places I was unaware of and have been pleasantly surprised with those I've visited so far. For those daring tourists who want to get to know SF beyond Fisherman's Warf and the Cable Cars, a definite must!

Ms. Jacobs has a knack for creating believable, "ordinary" characters
and placing them in extraordinarily dangerous situations.

More great news: Ms. Jacobs has other books due out in 2002!

Ms. Jacobs has done it again! Ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances, and a plot which picks up speed with every page, this thriller is a joy ride for the thriller reader. If you're looking for a good read, pick up Double Trouble---you won't be able to put it down.

I'll say right up front that I'm a friend of Nancy Baker Jacobs, and I haven't yet read DOUBLE OR NOTHING. I'm rating it five stars, though, in anticipation of what I know it's bound to be. I've read several of Nancy's other books, and have been waiting impatiently to receive the long-awaited DOUBLE OR NOTHING. Nancy is a great writer, and she's been gone from the mystery scene far too long. As an author myself, and a former freelance editor, I know good writing when I see it--and Nancy goes beyond good. Her books are thoughtful, intelligent, tense, fast-paced and exciting. Welcome back, Nancy! And get that promised copy of DOUBLE OR NOTHING to me--fast!!

The Game of Truth is a wonderful resource for team and individual development. It is very useful to break the ice when bringing people of many different backgrounds together. The book builds self-esteem and enhances communication in a fun and even therapeutic way. It is a great idea generator and relationship builder. The illustrations are excellent and add to the intrigue.

Fernando Bontempi, veteran psychoanalyst Francisco Bontempi, and innovative educator Annette Segal effectively collaborated to present The Game Of Truth: A Humorous Guide To Self-Discovery as a kind of do-it-yourself diagnostic and remediative therapy in a single volume. The Game Of Truth offers the reader field-tested questions, self-diagnosis feedback tools, evaluation cards, pithy sayings and spicy cartoons. Fun, informative, insightful, pragmatic, The Game Of Truth is a highly recommended, valued, "user friendly" offering for the non-specialist general reader in search of an effective self-help approach to becoming aware of themselves, and their interpersonal dynamics with friends and family.

Here's a book that shows you just how much you don't share with others and a pragmatic, fun way to change that! The cartoons are very funny, the games challenging and I found the guidelines for giving feedback useful at work. The questions cover every aspect of life - and more! I found these questions great for journaling too! Find out what people you think you know are really about - and challenge yourself at the same time.

THIS BOOK IS GREAT FOR ANY BASEBALL FAN. THE PHOTOS AND OTHER MATERIAL USED TO SHOW THE HISTORY OF THE GIANTS IS OUTSTANDING. I THINK THIS ONE OF THE BEST BOOK I HAVE READ FOR MEMORIES AND HISTORY OF THE BELOVED GIANTS. READ IT YOU WON'T BE SORRY

This book is a must read for any fan of the greatest team in baseball, the San Francisco GIANTS! Beautifully orchestrated, full-blown color photos and fantastic stories of the Giants rich history dating back to Coogan's Bluff.

If anybody knows how to contact Bruce Chadwick or David M. Spindel then please forward their contact info. right away. (650.988.9290) or ryan@altoscan.com

This is a great book if you're into Baseball history. Instead of illustrations, the stories are accompanied by photos of actual artifacts from this great game! A must for any baseball fan!