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.

Two of my favorite activities, reading good books and hiking good trails, merge in this Oregon Coast hiking guide. Bonnie Henderson was raised in Portland, and lives in Eugene now. Not only does she know these trails, but she is also savvy to all the flora and fauna along the way. Her guide is organized by hikes along Oregon's North Coast, North-Central Coast, Central Coast, South-Central Coast, and South Coast, and also includes interesting information about, among other things, puffins (pp. 40-41), skunk cabbage (p. 51), bald eagles (p. 62), estuaries (p. 73) and silverspot butterflies (pp. 76-77).

I spent a week hiking many of the trails in this guide, including most of Henderson's own recommended favorites (pp. 26, 57, 96): Indian Beach to Ecola Point, Seaside Beach, Crescent Beach, Haystack Rock, Hug Point, and the Yachats 804 Trail. I especially liked the Cape Falcon and Cooks Ridge-Gwynn Creek loop trails. Rocky beaches. Loud waves. Waterfalls. Mossy trees. Old-growth forests. Foggy days. Muddy trails. The Oregon Coast is a hiker's heaven, and Henderson's wise, old trail guide contains some of heaven's best-kept secrets.

G. Merritt

Bonnie Henderson's hiking books are consistently good. This one highlights some lesser-known hikes along the Oregon Coast. My parents live on the coast, and many of these hikes were pleasant surprises to them. Difficulty is accurately noted. The author, an Oregon resident, really hikes all the trails in her books. This book would be a great gift for anyone living or travelling the Oregon Coast.

This Wonderful Book, Highway Robbery, is Very Educational, and Very Entertaining!!! In This Wonderful Carmen Sandiego Mystery, Young ACME Detectives Maya, and Ben, go after Carmen, when She steals Interstate Eighty!!! Maya, and Ben team- up with an ACME Agent, Dusty Rhoads, since she knows all the back roads, and short cuts, she'll be the one that will drive them to Certain Places, where V.I.L.E. Activity has been suspected, and deduced, by Maya, and Ben!!! When Maya, and Ben start trailing Carmen's Agent, they not only learn a lot, Geography wise, but they also learn that the Agent loves weird attractions, like Frog Fantasies Museums, and Enigma Museums, where people once suspected that aliens had landed, and made a Museum with only alien- like- things, in it!!! Will Maya, and Ben catch Carmen Sandiego, this time?

This book was great. It was very well written.I highly reccomend this book to everybody that likes mysteries and action. It is definitely Franklin W. Dixon`s best yet!!!!

This book gives the reader good idea of where to go in Alaska if you using the highway system as your primary transportation method. The book is grouped by each Highway (Dalton, Glenn, etc) and each sub-area within that highway as to how well you can expect to do while prospecting in each area.
The Author has rated each sub-area (Creek/River System) between 1 and 3 stars. Each area lists if you can only pan, or use a sluice, dredge, etc. Times of the year that you are permitted to dredge, etc. It also lists the type of gold you are likely to find. (fine, course, nuggets, etc.)
I haven't used the book in actual practice yet, but plan to this summer. I would say that from what I have read that it is well worth the money.

This book gives the reader good idea of where to go in Alaska if you using the highway system as your primary transportation method. The book is grouped by each Highway (Dalton, Glenn, etc) and each sub-area within that highway as to how well you can expect to do while prospecting in each area.
The Author has rated each sub-area (Creek/River System) between 1 and 3 stars. Each area lists if you can only pan, or use a sluice, dredge, etc. Times of the year that you are permitted to dredge, etc. It also lists the type of gold you are likely to find. (fine, course, nuggets, etc.)
I haven't used the book in actual practice yet, but plan to this summer. I would say that from what I have read that it is well worth the money.

I used this book in planning a recent trip to Oregon. Although my wife and I used to be avid hikers, we're not exactly in shape right now, so this book was an excellent guide to pick out a few short hikes in Crater Lake National Park and another near Bend.

Hikes can be located on a numbered map of western and central Oregon, or through the index in back. Each hike is rated by type of hike (day hike or backpack), difficulty, distance, terrain, high point, when it is hikable and contact information. The narrative gives a clear description of the hike, its popularity, what you'll see and how to get there. There is an explanation of the symbols used in the book, and the introduction discusses why you should hike with children, how to use the book, what to take, safety issues, good trail manners and trailhead fees.

So, whether you're a parent looking for some fun hikes for the children, or you're an adult looking to stretch your legs in the Oregon outdoors, this is an excellent guide to help you plan your outing.

In Keeping The Spirit Alive, Bonnie Kahn and Mary Schlick effectively collaborate to showcase an impressive array of Native American artistry and craftsmanship using items found in the collection of Dr. and Mrs. Robert B. Pamlin, Jr. Color photography of clothing, domestic items, personal adornments, and articles used for battle are all augmented by informative captions. More than ninety items are included and document the continuity of Native American artistry over the past two hundred years down to the present day. Keeping The Spirit Alive is a unique and highly recommended addition to any personal or academic Native American studies and art history collections.

In _Prairie Town_, the work, play, and socializing of a small community are vividly illustrated in a way to capture the interest of young and old. The finely wrought etchings are _Prairie Town's_ greatest strength. Even adults will enjoy tracing changes in buildings and activities as a small farm town moves from spring to summer to fall to winter. Watching the tree house expand was one of my favorites. Each time a reader goes through the book, he or she will notice new details. The only drawback to this excellent picture book is the occasional use of vocabulary too advanced for the 6 to 8 year olds that would seem to be the book's intended audience. Anyone who enjoyed Geisert's _Haystack_ will find delightful references in _Prairie Town_ to the earlier book. The cycle of the seasons is an ongoing part of all Midwesterners' lives, and the Geiserts' _Prairie Town_ captures that cycle very effectively.

I thought that The Saddle Club No. 6 Was a very good book ! IT is a must have for horse and dog lovers. When the Saddle Club flys out to there Friends Dude ranch The Saddle Club has an adventure waiting for them . In the early morning the girls encounter a mysterious rider who the find out is a young girl named Christine . It made me a little angery becasue the girls are so prejudiced twards her but it all turns out good in the end . Also stevies birthday is coming and nobody seems to care. Do lisa and Carole have a surprize? read this book and find out also will stevie be trapped by a rattle snake ? This a really good book and I suggest you read it !!!!!!!!!!!

This book, Dude Ranch, is also one of the Saddle Club series. In one of the previous reviews, I wrote about "Hoof Beat" which is the same series as this book. The characters (Stevie Lake, Carole Hanson, and Lisa Atwood) are also the same. In this book, they go to the west to Carole's friend Kate Divine's ranch. They meet a 'mysterious' rider that goes out every early morning, Stevie is trapped by a dangerous rattlesnake, and her birthday is coming and no one seems to actually care or think about it. Will Stevie get away with the rattlesnake? Who is the 'mysterious' rider every early morning? What about Stevie's birthday? Read this book to find out every answer of these questions! It's really interesting, and I say that you should get this exciting book!!!

A really good one. All of Bonnie Bryants are good, especially the western ones. it was a little sad but GOOD!

While enjoying the great photos and reading about the amazing characters and individuals who pioneered physical culture in the 1930's and 1940's at muscle beach, I found the book to be a little unstructured and would have preferred to read more about how muscle beach developed, the impact it had, and the local politics and changes from the 1950's to today.

The book tended to be just a series of character portraits (wonderful as they were) but is obviously a valuable historical artifact as these pioneers of fitness are now fading from our 21st century view.

I may be wrong, but from a European perspective muscle beach has always meant bodybuilders and the focus in the book was more on acrobats/gymnasts. My own recollection of first hearing of muscle beach was as a teenager seeing Arnold in the weights compound area in 'Pumping Iron' - a period that post dates all of this book.

What I learned reading this book is that muscle beach now only exists as a concept being, as it was, close to where Golds and World gym are now.

I got my copy of the book, went home and read it cover to cover that night. It brought lots of memories of Muscle Beach. I put faces to the names that I have heard since I was a kid visiting my Uncles Russ and Ray Saunders and family friend Paula Boelsems. They used to toss us around in the 50's and 60's at Muscle Beach. For all these years I have heard the names mentioned in "Remembering Muscle Beach" and now I can put faces to the names. Even now visiting with Russ Saunders I hear the names repeated over and over. Muscle Beach was such a huge part of all these people's lives. It moulded their careers and their leisure time for their whole life. It will give you a good picture of what life was like in Santa Monica. The early years of Hollywood stunts and the movie industry came directly from the regulars at Muscle Beach. Even if you don't personally know the people in this book, you will recognize at least some of the names. What a great documentation of this era of Muscle Beach. PS I somehow think I might be related to the other reviewer!

It is with much anticipation that I wait for the release of this book. As a child in the 50s and 60s,visiting from my home in Canada, I spent many Sunday afternoons with the folks at Muscle Beach. My uncles Russ and Ray Saunders and good family friend Paula Boelsems were some of the original muslcle beach folks and they are on the cover of this book. The acrobatics that were taught to us kids was great fun. They always put on a wonderful show. Some of these folks (including my uncles) were stunt people in the movies and went on to become world class gymnastic judges. They contributed a great deal to the Pier and it became a way of life for a lot of us. As a kid I remember eating too many corn dogs and drinking too much lemonaide, from the stand beside the grass in front of the lifeguard building, before being tossed in the air from the teetor board by Uncle Russ. You can guess what happened. Buy the book and bring back some memories of a simpler time in Santa Monica.

Few subjects are more intrinsically interesting, in my opinion, than the relationship between European and Chinese thought. The arrival in China of the Jesuits reads, to me, a little like the old commercial for the candy bar, when the boy munching on the chocolate collides in the hall-way collides with the girl chewing the peanut butter. "Hey, you got peanut butter on my chocolate." In my opinion, and in the opinion of many modern Chinese, Christianity and Chinese tradition really are two great tastes (kept apart for thousands of years) that taste great together. (I've even written a book, True Son of Heaven: How Jesus Fulfills the Chinese Culture, to prove that point.)

This book is a scholarly look at the history of this earliest connection between some very thoughtful Catholic missionaries and the Chinese intelligensia. It gives the story of Ricci, Alleni, and also the story of three prominent converts to Christianity, among other things. A good deal of the book is about Matteo Rici, who comes across as a truly remarkable individual, both intellectually and as a human being. Historians, including those here, tend to admire him for adapting Christianity to Chinese culture, at the expense of some arrogant and ignorant missionaries who came later. In my opinion, it was the later missionaries who were off base, in terms of Christian tradition, rather than the Jesuits, in that, in the blindness of European power, they failed to utilize principles of cultural adaptation that had been laid out by central Christian thinkers like Paul, John, Justin, Clement, and Augustine.

As these essays show, the Jesuits held to a policy of "rejecting Buddhism and accomodating with Confucianism." They also tended to exagerate the moral character of Western society. In my opinion, Augustine showed that it is possible to relate Christianity in a more holistic manner to all segments of society, and to be quite frank and honest, in creating an orthodox Christian apologetic that meets the needs of a civilization. Many modern Christian Chinese agree with the Chinese scholar Ye Xianggao in interpretting Christianity not as a rejection of Chinese culture, but rather as its fulfillment. "Ordinary Confucianists do indeed talk frequently of Heaven, but they behave as if Heaven is far away. (The Jesuits), on the other hand, speak of Heaven as connected intimately with us . . . This is most appropriate for awakening the world."

My main criticism is that the scholars involved seem too focused on these particular cases, and contrasting them only to later bad examples, that they fail to relate the story to the larger context of Christian fulfillment theology, of more recent works that expand upon Ricci's excellent example, and, frankly, what God might be up to. But I found several essays worth reading.

author, Jesus and the Religions of Man