Fat/Trax:Colorado Springs is a must if you like to mountain bike and enjoy great views. Whether you are a resident or visitor to the area, this book provides everything you'll need to know about riding the trails in the region except for the current weather conditions...also a must. From novice to expert, there is something to be found for all skill levels in the trails listed in Fat/Trax. Trails defined in this book range from the "just on a whim-'cause the weathers so nice" 45 min. ride to the "better pack some food, water, and a bed-roll" overnighter. Sized for the trail, easy to follow, and priced right, this one inspires all skill levels to saddle-up and "crank" out a most enjoyable ride.

David has an excellent way of telling his story and beeing able to beat his ALS. He has given me hope and a light at the end of the tunnel. It is a positive book that every PALS should read.

I would like to know about the method of designing of extension spring

If you want to retain the cosy illusion of the cowboy as a gun-toting, chain-smoking, horse-riding champion of open ranges, you will find little of it reinforced in David McCumber's excellent first book. But as he says, I have always been a Westerner, which means I have always thought about being a cowboy. Thinking and doing are different."

McCumber is former assistant managing editor of the San Francisco Examiner and founding editor and publisher of Big Sky Journal, who, at 44, decided to spend a year slaving as a cowboy on a huge cattle ranch in the high mountains of Montana.

It turned out to be a labour of love for this award-winning journalist who at the time was facing a mid-life crisis and gives the reasons for his sabbatical as: "journalistic curiosity about a lifestyle glorified to the point of religion in our culture. It was the final step of letting go, signing on as a gray-headed greenhorn, proposing to make my living out-of-doors, with my body as well as my brain."

His detailed description of the Montana cowboy's unenviable daily grind is thoroughly engrossing. In fact this book would be the perfect manual for the ignorant Dude who fancies working on a ranch: there's everything here from rousting renegade steers to the right way to build and repair fences in a snow-drift halfway up a mountain, learning new mechanical skills in the ranch's machine shop and garage, assisting with veterinary operations, and fighting brush fires.

McCumber's Montana is a harsh world where cowboys from disparate backgrounds bond while working against extremes of weather. Sadly, the cowpoke's four-legged friend - the horse - has been largely replaced by the more cost-effective small all-terrain vehicle (one driven by petrol not grass), occasional sorties in the Boss's helicopter, and Shank's Pony. By the end of the book, I felt as worn out and exhilarated as the author, whose every moment and enthusiasm for hard work I felt I'd shared.

"Many Montanans see their homeland turning from a great place to live and work," he says, "into a virtual theme park full of designer-dressed Westerners who don't understand what it really takes to make a living on the land." Who would blame them for there must be an easier way of making a living than the one vividly described in McCumber's book. After reading it I no longer dream about being a real cowboy but at last I now understand why some people still do.

But a cowboy without the comfort of a cigarette still seems a contradiction in terms.

I love books that help me travel to worlds unknown to me. And, as I live in New York City, ranching is something I know absolutely nothing about. That's why this book by David McCumber, in which he chronicles a year spent as a ranch hand, intrigued me. As he was a 44-year old journalist with no experience ranching, I could easily relate to his trials as tribulations as he learned what it takes to be a cowboy today. He's a straightforward clear writer and he uses his words well to describe even the most mundane tasks that are the daily routines for the people who live and work on ranches.

Basically, it's all about the care and feeding of cows and this includes the baling of hay, an essential job which has its own set of challenges. There's the birthing of the calves and the cleaning of the pens. There's setting up and irrigation system, and fixing miles of fencing. Often the weather is brutal and virtually all the work is outside. There's some horseback riding, of course, but nowadays most of the work is done with various trucks and motorcycles and vans which always need mechanical work, also done by the ranch hands. Mistakes are made often and result in a tongue lashing from the owner who knows everything there is to know about ranching and wants no other way of life.

These are real people that the author meets and he writes about them all with a sense of admiration and I'm glad he also included the history of the White Sulphur Springs area, which he researched as background. The magnificent scenery comes alive, as do his aching muscles. He enjoys it all completely and made it quite real for me. I must admit though, that in spite of his detailed explanations, I didn't understand it all, especially when he described the mechanical aspects of the baling machines or the irrigation system or the fixing of the motor in a truck. However, I had no trouble at all understanding the birthing, branding and castrating process. And I was right there with him as he fixed fences and chased straggling cattle for miles.

I thank Mr. McCumber for writing this book. I learned a lot from it. Now, whenever I hear the word "cowboy", I'll think about the real work that that is his daily grind. I'll think of the harsh and beautiful country. And the simple joy of a job well done. Recommended.

I loved every minute spent reading this book; perhaps because I've always wanted to be a cowboy on a Montana ranch myself. And, oddly enough, hearing horror stories about days spent in blizzards trying to fix fences and birth calves while covered from head-to-toe in cow dung and mud didn't change that feeling one bit! McCumber is a great writer -- captures not only the look of Montana, but the feel of it, too. And the fact he had a fantastic time makes it all the more fun for the reader. Read this book! You'll love it!

Instead of Luc Tuymans, Anton Chekhov, Vratislav Effenberger, Milton Hatoum, Andrie Platonov, Victor Pelevin, Rebecca Solnit, I found in this issue of Grand Street (no 64) contributions of David Mamet, Suzan Lori Parks, José Saramago, Tony Smith, Tennesse Williams and Pablo Neruda

Kadare sets out two stories, that slowly blur together. Not a traditional historical novel, this story helps explain the dichotomy between new ideas and old traditions in present day Albania.

The Horn Book Review misses the point - I use this book with my students who enjoy it quite a bit. I think part of its appeal IS the quietness of the story & illustrations - you might as well make fun of Mr.Rogers for being so quiet & calm - Hey! that's the appeal to kids sometimes in a noisy fast-paced Sesame Street/MTV/Internet world. I recommend all of David's books - for kids and his adult work also.

Palm Springs Modern provides a superb photo tour of a handful of landmark homes that defined the 'modern' style in the 1950s and '60s. Because wealthy businessmen and celebrities could afford edgier architecture, the authors focus on these homes -- with a welcome chapter on the talented William Cody in between. If you want a scholarly treatise on modernism in architecture, buy another book. If you want a tantalizing sample of some of the best work, PSM is fine. By the time modernism made its way into mass production homes, it lost much of its inventiveness and aesthetic. Those familiar with the Palm Springs area will notice that the Alexanders' ubiquitous 'butterfly' rooflines have become almost cliche, while the Loewy house and most of the PSM subjects remain exotic.

Do you need to own PSM before buying or designing a home for the California desert? Clearly the answer is NO. But if you want a virtual tour of some of the most inspired homes of the genre, PSM belongs on your coffee table. And yes, if you live in the Midwest or Northeast you would do yourself a service by putting this away in a closet somewhere during the winter.

Palm Springs Modern illustrates (in photos) a collection of homes by designers who tested design concepts in the harsh desert environment that complimented, and indeed enhanced the outcome. Those of us who seek inspiration and documentation of the modernist period will find this volumn satisfying. It is not a scholarly book, nor is the text particularly deep in theory of architectural modernism. And it doesn't matter that some of the homeowners were celebrities. What really matters is that there are so many fine examples of modernist architecture and in such close proximity.

A classic. If you've never been to Palm Springs, you'll be catching the next flight after leafing thru this fine book. Gorgeous photos of simply incredible buildings. Palm Springs has a quality and character unlike any other "resort" town. The fabulous architecture of the mid-century building boom and a renewed appreciation of the designs of that period has revitalized (again) the Palm Springs area. If you can't visit Palm Springs personally, then pour a martini, sit back and enjoy this book. It's almost like being there!

This is not the Spring-Heeled Jack that jumped really high and spat blue flames in England. Not the evil Spring-Heeled Jack that all of us paranormalists love. They just totally changed Jack's personality! How frustrating!

It's a Dickensian Batman, a Victorian Superman. Up on the roof: It's a bird! It's a cat! It's Spring-Heeled Jack, the devil-costumed defender of truth and justice. Unfortunately, while Jack has some intriguing possibilities, they're never used enough in this lackluster little novel.

Rose, Lily and Ned have escaped from the rotten orphanage (their mom is dead and their father is missing), with plans to sell a valuable locket and travel to America. But they are attacked by Mack the Knife, "the most evil villain in London," who kidnaps Ned. Lily and Rose are rescued by a mysterious figure who resembles the devil. But it's not a devil, it's Spring-Heeled Jack, who perkily informs them, "I'm good. I catch villains. I avenge wrongs. I do all kinds of stuff." (But does he slice, dice, and freshen your breath while you sleep?)

Jack takes Lily and Rose to his friend Polly, unaware that the sinister boss and amoral old maid from the orphanage are after the three children, intending to steal the locket as well. Will Spring-Heeled Jack rescue the incredibly outspoken Ned from a gang of thugs? Will he rescue the girls from Mr. Killjoy and Miss Gimlet?

One of the problems with "Spring-Heeled Jack" is the narrative. It's split between comic-strip-style cartoons and regular text -- and unfortunately neither the text or the cartoons can stand alone in telling the story. This jarring transition might be exciting for very young children, especially if a parent is reading the story out loud, but older kids will probably find it jarring. And unfortunately while corny dialogue can be stomached in the cartoon format, the regular narrative just makes it sound trite.

This cutesy arrangement also harms the characters, as every one of them is essentially a stereotype except Spring-Heeled Jack himself. There are the kindly young lovers, the evil orphanage owners, the unusually patient murdering robbers, the loyal pooch and the plucky preteens. With the exception of a very witty cartoon kitchen cat, Jack himself is the only interesting character in the bunch. He's also the most underexposed, since he is present perhaps a fourth of the time that the bland Polly is.

Fans of Philip Pullman's charming "I Was A Rat!" and "Firework-Maker's Daughter" will be disappointed in this calculatedly cutesy tale. One to pass by.

IT was wonderful i read it many times it was very easy but lovable. I even read it to my kids.