While visiting Ireland for a week my Dad and I enjoyed two of the walks described in the book. Walk 16 from Spa to Tralee winded next to a quiet stretch of ocean and canal. While following the trail through farmers's fields spotted cows slowly blinked at our presence. We viewed horseback riders, the Blennerville windmill, and wild flowers during our trek. It was an up close view of the beautiful green Irish countryside. We also enjoyed walk 14 on Inishmore (one of the Aran Islands). The book gave helpful advice on using local transportation to travel to the starting point of the walk. Starting at the mighty fortress Dun Aonghasa we marveled at the sheer cliffs protecting the fortress. The view was incredible. Leave extra time for listening to the crashing ocean waves and exploring the rocky walls. On the return walk the ocean view was captivating. We saw a local farmer repairing a stone wall by hand. This walk allowed us to enjoy a unique part of Ireland firsthand. The 35 walks listed in the book were from 2 to 9 miles in length and descriptions of elevation and estimated walking time were included. Public transportation information was provided where available which we found helpful since we did not have a rented car. Using this book we were able to enjoy recommeded sites, but also get off the beaten path to see the real Ireland.

Planning a walking trip sight unseen is always an act of faith. This well-written guide makes it easier to discover Ireland off the beaten path and be confident that you are setting off on walks that you can handle, that you know what to expect along the way, and can judge ahead of time whether to take one walk versus another. Booth includes information on where to find food and water as well as toilet facilities. I looked at three walking guides for an upcoming trip to Ireland, and this is the only one I am taking with me.

We spent 6 days in Italy, and ended up only doing 2 of the walks (plus visited the site of a 3rd), but found this book a great resource for getting away from the crowds, without being in the back of beyond. It provided ideas for some truly unique places to go that weren't on the usual "tourist's map" of Italy. Also, one of the hotel recommendations in the beginning (there aren't many -- the book is not at all a comprehensive guide) was a great find. We did find at least one discrepancy in a trail marking (at the end of the Florence walk), so be alert and flexible!

We spent 2 weeks in Italy and did 6 walks. We would love to do more. This was a very easy guide to follow and you could make this the only book you need. Can't wait to try another one soon.

Have you ever tried to find superhero based novels that are the author's creation? That aren't based on anything you see on the comic books stands? Well then look no further. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Cyber Age. With a constantly changing website, gorgeous artwork, and some damn friggin' good stories, Cyber Age Adventures is definately one of the few good works of superhero fiction out there. But this is a review on the book. =) Although I didn't find the three chapter method to be necessary, these stories were originally posted as a 3-part story with the website/fan mail. But the flow of each one is still very well done. Each hero has his or her flaws that make him or her just a little bit more human in nature. And the use of the super abilties in new and interesting ways make it for an even more interesting read. For superhero fans out there, I'd recommend this in a heart beat. For those that like superheroes, but don't want to buy monthly, overpriced comics, then grab this book while you can.

I checked this out on a lark, in the mood for something light and harmless. Instead I found an absorbing series of stories about a diverse cast of characters. It's superheroes for grownups, superheroes who have problems with their parents or their friends or their jobs or their car payments that are as real, and sometimes more dangerous, than their problems with the supervillain of the week.

I was really impressed with this anthology. The authors show a lot of talent and a lot of promise, and they've made a credible attempt to make the superhero genre into a literary experience -- without sacrificing innovating new powers or exciting fight scenes. It's definitely worth a look.

True heroism is not about flying at the speed of sound or walloping the bad guys with expert martial arts ease or blasting through concrete with fist-propelled laser beams. No, true heroism comes from within, and the 'within' is all-too-human... all-too-real. This is what CyberAge never fails to tap into: the human reality, the power we all have and that we can all grasp onto, if only we choose to do so. The fantasy of these stories is undeniable, but the gritty realism hidden beneath is what makes them breathe, what makes them move... what makes them important. A must read!

Just an extraordinary and concise grouping of apparently easy hikes of short duration, the majority of which can be handled by anyone. Perhaps they make more sense if you have visited France before. The choice of areas is extensive and probably putting half a dozen together would make for a most interesting vacation. Extemely easy to read. Just hope the trails are still there - wasn't there some sort of EU protest recently about abandoning such trails? Better get going, soon!

I really enjoyed reading this book, full of wonderful descriptions of easy, scenic walks. It gives lots of arguments for why you should try walking in Britain and lots of information for how to prepare. I decided I wanted to do mostly more strenuous hikes than what's covered here, but this book was my inspiration to think about seeing Britain on foot.

Frank Bruni accomplishes what few journalists have been willing or able to do. He gives readers a true sense of George W. Bush, contradictions and all. During the campaign, most of the media portrayed Bush as a dim, inexperienced fool whose family lineage was his only qualification for the Presidency.

But that caricature is debunked by Ambling Into History. Bush is far more complicated than that caricature, and Ambling literally takes the reader on Bush's odyssey from the Texas State House to the White House. From the earliest days on the campaign trial to those intense days after Sept. 11, we have a front-row seat as Bush grows from a reluctant and awkward candidate to a supremely confident, yet still awkward, wartime president.

I was especially struck by the chapter about Bush and his father. Bruni brings alive their complicated relationship -- the anger Bush felt at his Dad's loss in 92 to Clinton, as well as the deep pride and protectiveness that the former president felt for his son during the bruising campaign. In particular, Bruni's description of the pride the two men have in each other's accomplishments is as touching as it is poignant.

The book is also an illuminating look inside the modern presidential campaign. Better than anything I have read, it shows how and why reporters become tired of writing about issues, choosing instead to devote so much airtime and print to the candidates' personal styles and verbal gaffes.

Bruni is a first-rate writer with a keen eye for those small, often humorous details that tell so much about a person or a moment. Like its subject, Ambling Into History cannot be easily shoved into this category or placed in that box. But I am sure you will agree Ambling Into History will explain George W. Bush better than anything you have read. And, here is a bonus: it is almost impossible to put down.

George W. Bush has plenty of his presidency left, and there is much history ahead of him. How great of a president he will have been is yet to be seen. However, in Frank Bruni's chronicle of GWB, in "Ambling into History: The Unlikely Odyssey of George W. Bush," we get a look on the stupidity, and at the greatness. GWB has lived a paradoxical life, and we've gotten the good with the bad. Bruni helps us sort through some of it.

There is a fair chance the conservatives will cheer this book, but a similar chance the liberals will love it as well, for entirely different reasons. Like in the extremely popular "Bias: A CBS Insider Exposes How the Media Distort the News," this book gives us insight on how presidential campaigns are covered.

This might be a great tool for high school teachers to help bring to life the current occupant of the Executive Office.

Regardless of differing views, Gore and Bush probably get along better privately than their supporters would like to admit. And Bush might come across plain-spoken, but he is far brighter than his occasional spoken fumblings.

Buy "Ambling into History: The Unlikely Odyssey of George W. Bush" and benchmark Bush. Go back in five years, and see if Bruni was on target, or full of baloney.

I fully recommend "Ambling into History: The Unlikely Odyssey of George W. Bush," by Frank Bruni.

Anthony Trendl

Read this fun, meaty, fast-paced portrait of George W. at your own risk. Those who voted for Bush, who saw him as the kind of guy they'd like to have a beer with, will find themselves wincing -- again and again -- at his juvenile behavior and shocking lack of in-depth knowledge about almost everything save the flora and fauna on his beloved ranch. They will be forced to admit that they helped elect a lightweight class clown. Then again, those who enthusiastically voted against Bush, as I did, will come away with from this incredibly nuanced, insightful and entertaining biography feeling something akin to real respect for the man (did I write that?) -- for his flexibility, his deep love of family and country and perhaps most importantly, his new-found focus and commitment to ridding the world of terrorism. Frat boy or Zen master? You decide. Bruni's book is about as balanced and fair as journalism gets. And he writes with great wit and intelligence and a healthy dose of self-deprecating humor as he drags us with on the exhausting campaign trail -- where every journalist gains weight, outgrows his clothes, resumes smoking and drinks too much on little to no sleep. I went willingly. What a blast.

This slim volume is hardly a polished effort. In fact, it is crude in many respects: poorly written, a choppy narrative that flows in fits and starts and little effort to fully identify many of the persons whose names appear in this history which focuses on the Franklin Roosevelt years in the White House.

Nevertheless, what Mr. Walker writes about is fascinating. So fascinating, in fact, that the general reader may overlook, even forgive, the crudities.

Frank Walker, of good old Irish stock, was a Butte, Montana boy who rose to prominence in national affairs. Ultimately, he become an intimate and reliable confidant of President Roosevelt, a member of FDR's team of reliables. In gratitude for his effort, the President appointed him national chairman of the Democratic Party and for a time, Postmaster General of the United States.

A devout Catholic, he spent three years with the Jesuits at Gonzaga University in Spokane but then transferred to Notre Dame to study law. After a successful career as a lawyer and businessman, he helped New York Governor Franklin Roosevelt become President and followed FDR to Washington.

There, he was, you might say, a high-principled, soft-spoken henchman -- one who often did the dirty work for a politician who had no stomach for it. So when FDR had to inform former Senator James F. Byrnes that he did not want Mr. Byrnes but instead wanted Harry Truman as his vice president in the 1944 elections, FDR sent Frank Walker to do the job. FDR relied on Mr. Walker's nice way of doing such things.

The book is edited from dictated notes kept by Mr. Walker. Much of it reads like an old fashioned business letter. "Be that as it may" or "as I've said before" -- clichés such as those are sprinkled throughout; they even add a certain charm, as though we were listening to Mr. Walker talk about his fascinating experiences in high places.

I personally was intrigued by Mr. Walker's unconventional opinion of two renowned Supreme Court Justices: the "near-sainted" Oliver Wendell Holmes and the renowned Felix Frankfurter.

What did Mr. Walker think of these two justices and their proteges, the "so-called Harvard crowd"? They "did more damages to the New Deal and to Roosevelt than any other faction that came to Washington." He does not go into detail, unfortunately.

The walk through those times with Mr. Walker as the guide was a highly satisfactory visit to an important part of America's history. And Mr. Walker's final view of Franklin D. Roosevelt records his disappointment even though he concedes that no man in American history left a greater "impress on the nation than he." But, "I can say regretfully that to me Franklin Roosevelt was not the great man he could have been. To me he failed in becoming a truly great man."

Mr. Walker died in 1959. He is buried in the family plot at St. Patrick's Cemetery in Butte.

=pjr=