The pictures are full color but only are of male birds. It only has the summer coloring also, not winter coloring of changing birds like goldfinches. Very nice up close pictures though. It shows great detail of birds in their natural settings. This book is perfect for a pocket or bag. It measures about 4" high and 6" long. This book contains basic data of common eastern birds. It states a brief description, identification, voice, habitat, and range. There is also information about basic birdwatching, identifying, and attracting birds in the introduction. I keep this book next to my home office computer where I have a feeder outside my window just in case I have an unfamiliar visitor.

The first thing to note about this book is, as the author makes clear, this is not a translation of the Tao Te Ching. The author describes it as a rendition of the old Taoist text by Lao Tzu (the 'old boy'). Richard Degen has drawn on his nearly Thirty years of study of Taoism and the translations of many scholars to form his own reading/interpretation of the Tao Te Ching.

Whereas many translations of this book have an ambiguous and mysterious quality to them Mr Degen's 'rendition' is surprisingly lucid. I have a number of translations of the Tao Te Ching but I find this one is a favourite because it seems to speak plainly to the heart of Taoist ideas. This reading is aided by an introduction that ably introduces and describes some of the ideas of Taoism. One of these ideas is the limitation of language. Looking at chapter one of the Tao Te Ching is instructive here. For example, James Legge's translation says:

The Tao that can be trodden is not the enduring and unchanging Tao. The name that can be named is not the enduring and unchanging name.

(Conceived of as) having no name, it is the Originator of heaven and earth; (conceived of as) having a name, it is the Mother of all things.

Degen's take on this is:

There are things that can not be described by or understood through language. A complete description and understanding of the purpose and operation of the Way is beyond the power of language.

While this does not have the 'colour' of previous approaches, I feel that it makes clear that path is probably an experiential one and that trying to convey this all with words is 'difficult'. This echo's in my own study and practice of Taoist Tai Chi where I'm learning (slowly) that it is - more 'do', less 'talk'.

The book is not large and can easily fit in a bag you might carry around with you. You can dip into it at random or read it cover to cover - it always repays the time.

I think that The Texas Rangers Elite Series is a very informative, yet entertaining book. The book talks about The Texas Rangers from thier begining up to present day, going into deph about the more famous Rangers like, Jack Hays, and RIP Ford. I would say that this book is well worth investing in, especaially for people to whom the Texas Rangers is a new interrest, its a good starting block.

This book has a collection of interesting bike rides of varying lengths and difficulties. All rides have information on point-to-point mileage, nearby attractions (including Dairy Queens for stops on the way), and terrain/difficulty. The routes are great (have ridden several already), but the maps are only good to a certain level of detail. Bring a street-level map (and maybe a compass) if you don't know the area. If you are a recreational biker in the Twin Cities, this is a must-have.

Wanted Dead or Alive is an excellent overview of the American West in popular culture. While the conclusions within this anthology are all similar and reflect a revisionist (New Western History) slant, the vast array of topics covered, represent the only overview of the subject I am aware of.

In "Two Trips to Gorilla Land and the Cataracts of the Congo" Richard F. Burton wrote:

"My visits to Mr. Walker [Rev. William Walker, in Gabon] first gave me the idea of making the negro describe his own character in a collection of purely Hamitic proverbs and idioms. It appeared to me that, if ever a book aspires to the title 'l'Africaine peint par lui-meme' [the African depicted by himself], it must be one in which he is the medium of his own spirit, the interpreter of his own thoughts. Hence, 'Wit and Wisdom from West Africa' "

First published in 1865, "Wit and Wisdom from West Africa" is a collection of roughly 1700 proverbs from seven languages spoken along the Atlantic coast of Africa. The proverbs were not collected by Burton himself; he complied them from other published sources (mostly missionaries who were working on African language dictionaries and grammar books). In a few cases Burton had some communication with the collectors whose works he borrowed from. "Wit and Wisdom from West Africa" contains the following chapters (noted with the original source and number of proverbs):

1) Proverbs in the Wolof Tongue (from "Grammaire Wolofe", by J. Dard, 1826), 226 proverbs.

2) Proverbs in the Kanuri Tongue (from "African Native Literature", by Rev. S.W. Koelle, 1854), 83 proverbs.

3) Proverbs in the Oji Tongue (from "Grammatical Outline of the Oji Language" by Rev. H.N. Riis, 1854), 265 proverbs.

4) Proverbs in the Ga or Accra Language (from "A Grammatical Sketch of the Akra, or Ga, Language", by Rev. J. Zimmermann, 1858), 221 proverbs.

5) Proverbs in the Yoruba Language (from "Grammar and Dictionary of the Yoruba Language" by Rev. T.J. Bowen, 1858) 483 proverbs.

6) Proverbs in the Efik or Old Calabar Language (from "A Dictionary of the Efik Language", by Rev. Hugh Goldie, 1862) 418 proverbs.

7) Proverbial Sayings and Idioms in the Mpangwe (Fan) Tongue (collected by Rev. Preston and Rev. Adams) 14 proverbs.

Each proverb is printed in its original language (in the Latin alphabet) as well as in English. Many proverbs have a few sentences of additional commentary. In a few cases Burton questions the spelling used by the original collectors.

With the strange (to us) mix of admiration and admonition vis-a-vis Africa that characterizes Burton, he provides an introduction to each chapter that discusses each people's (tribe's) geography and history. It seems clear that Burton was looking for something African to celebrate; and not finding an African Shakespeare or Da Vinci, he settled on proverbs as an African accomplishment worthy of acclaim.

These proverbs having been collected over a century ago, they offer a glimpse into Africa's past; perhaps as Burton wished, a bit of "the African as depicted by himself".

We just got back from 5 days in New Orleans, and this was the only guide we took with us. It was a mistake. It's a difficult book to navigate, has limited maps, limited selection of accomodation & restaurants. If you go outside of Madi Gras & with children (two teenagers in our case) half the book is irrelevent. The restaurant '100 best' list doesn't match Zagats (always reliable). It warns against solo visits to the cemeteries (they're not safe, go on a tour), but doesn't explain why! Pity there isn't a Michelin Green Guide.

If you are going to New Orleans to enjoy the truly (as opposed to superficially) diverse culture of the United States' most distinctive city, then read this book before your trip.

Bultman's history of the city (perhaps the book's strongest feature) is fascinating and the neighborhood descriptions will help you decide what to see. More importantly, the information on N.O.'s unique slang, customs and food is essential. The dozens of great photographs will whet your anticipation before you go and remind you of the Crescent City's pleasures when you're back home.

I've used this book on three trips to N.O., and I still enjoy reading it. The restaurant and hotel recommendations aren't perfect (hey, tastes vary and things change) but they give you a place to start before you discover your own favorite spots.
Buy this book, make your reservations and let the good times roll!

This is really more than a just a guidebook but a very informative and entertaining history and cultural guide of New Orleans. Even though I had been to New Orleans before, the trip I made with this book as my companion was my best.

On past trips to New Orleans, I never could successfully determine what was real and what was for the tourists. I was especially impressed by the restaurant picks in the book which were outstanding.

Reading accounts of the Battle of the Little Bighorn sometimes leaves a mass of confusion to the reader. Even visitation to the site does not always enable oneself to clearly picture the events of that day. This book, which does not attempt to explain why things happened does much to set the scene and completes the picture that is painted by the numerous accounts of what happened. The reader may find this book to be dry, perhaps repetitious in some place, but in the end, will appreciate the information that is provided. Be aware that reading this book will forever cause the reader to imediately reject any printed material on The Battle of the Bighorn, that is not properly (and correctly) researched. This book is a good reference for any library.

This is an excellent book because it cuts through the partisan pro Custer, anti Custer views that are the main theme in almost all the books about the battle written to date. I highly recommend all the books written by Fox on this subject because he has no pre conceived ideas or biases. He bases his interpretations on the physical evidence remaining at the site and draws his conclusions from that evidence.

I don't understand where most of these previous reviewers are coming from. This is not meant to be a "theory-book" on the battle of the Little Bighorn. All it is is as an "assessment of the 1984 field season" of archaeological work on the battlefield. As that it functions well, with complete descriptions of the recovered artifacts and many sketches and pictures. There are only about 15 pages about the way the battle itself went, and it just correlates the artifacts in a preliminary way to how the battle may have progressed. It's nothing to get upset over. As for the Kansas City reviewer, he must be on another planet. Kuhlman's work was not "ripped without mercy" in this book. As a matter of fact, I don't think Kuhlman was even mentioned at all.

After looking at the book and reading the reviews I agree most with the reader who said you must have interest in the subject matter. In the last review the reader rated the book as very good but in his own words he had stayed on a reservation and had a great interest in and a super knowledge of the subject. I can see how someone with interest would enjoy it but for me,as someone without the above after 30 or so pages this book became a chore to get through.

I met Cates at the Native American Music Awards in 2001 and many of the artists photographed for her book were there. All of them were beaming at the how beautiful the book is, and Cates was even getting autographs! She captures a lot of the truth - good and bad- about modern Native America.

When I opened the first page of this book I was totally mesermized with it and did not put it down until I looked through the whole thing. I have been all over the Southwest and have many Native friends and this book brought such warm feelings to me. I like the way it shows the different ways the people live, and diminishes the sterotype that so many think about when they think of "Indians".

Officially, this book is taken for the work of Captain Charles Johnson. It is a compilation of narratives about various individual pirates from the Golden Age of Piracy, names like Blackbeard and Bartholomew Roberts (the dread pirate Roberts, from Princess Bride fame), Anne Bonny et al.

The conclusion that Defoe and Johnson were one and the same has come under fire these last few years and is not the accepted fact it once was. This text includes portions of the original volumes by Johnson, but not the whole, although it can be argued that it includes the stories that most readers would want. There is also some question about the validity of the stories, but we may never know whether they are true or fiction. P-)

This is yet another of the knock-offs of Captain Charles Johnson's General History of Pirates. It includes narratives of all the old favorites: Blackbeard, Kidd, Roberts, Bonny and others. As usual, Johnson's prose is preserved and some of the original illustrations grace the pages. The editor/publisher has includes a glossary, bibliography and notes to the original text.

However, the down side of this particular volume is that it includes only a subset of Johnson's original writings. And, there is no added index with which to quickly reference particular names and such. While I don't quite agree that the editor has ruined the original, I do find that this version falls short of its potential. P-)

As in the case of all Daniel Defoe books, the work is of exceptional quality though in places, the tone is unusually harsh & chillingly descriptive of the havoc that a twisted mind can wreak in the world.