5 comments about Route 66 (Enthusiast Color).

1. I recently received this beautiful color collection on "The Mother Road" Route 66. Having traveled West from Chicago to Kingman AZ in the mid 60's on Route 66 it brought back many memories. It also has left me with strong ambitions to repeat that journey but this time all the way to L.A. Wonderful photography and dialouge by the author. Even if you have never traveled on Route 66 you may very well want to after viewing this book.



2. Probably the best book to date on the subject, Route 66 is a joy from beginning to end. Referred to affectionately as The Mother Road, Route 66 was the first highway built for high speed travel in the United States. Due to the reliability of the cars and trucks using this road, it was lined with repair shops, diners, and tourist traps. The photography is excellent and the text is insightful and well written. Travelling from Chicago to Los Angeles via this book is a joy!



3. Route 66, by Tim Steil, is a trip in present, but a journey back in time. There was a day and age when Route 66 was the heartbeat of the Western half of the United States. Unlike its predecessor the Lincoln Highway, Route 66 was modern road made offering fast travel from Chicago to Los Angeles for both automobiles and trucks. Because of the limitations of vehicles of the 1930's through the early 1960's, the road was lined with repair shops, cafes, motels and scenic wonders that range from simple statues or absurd monuments.

   More than any other highway, Route 66 has a history and an allure that never ceases to draw the adventurous to it. These days traveling on Route 66 is sort of like visiting a huge living museum of automobile Americana. Steil, aided by photographer Jim Luning, take the journey and give their vision to this long familiar story. The nice part about this book is that MBI, the publisher, chose to offer it as part of the inexpensive Enthusiast Color Series rather than an expensive coffee table book. You can easily take this book with you for easy reading along the way and without taking up too much space at lunch counter. This was a good choice on their part and is sure to make give this book a long sales life.

   The author is accurate in his descriptions and the photographer's keen eye caught quite a few features of Route 66 that have not appeared in other publications. Truckers are big part of this story, in fact the famous Dixie Truckers Home in central Illinois gets good coverage right in the beginning of the book. If the lore and legends of Route 66 are already part of your life, or you would just like a low-cost introduction to this famous highway then Route 66, by Tim Steil is a must have item.
   - Gary Bricken




4. This is the best Route 66 book I've ever read. The pictures range from breathtaking to amusing and the writing is fresh and clean. A must have for anyone interested in Route 66.



5. Any book published as part of an "enthusiast color series" is likely intended to be a coffee-table book. And indeed, Route 66 has lots of pretty pictures, captured beautifully by Jim Luning. But unlike most such fare, this book deserves more than coffee-table placement (or, the pinnacle, bathroom-rack status.)

   I know the author, Tim Steil, a friend of mine. So, as one who loves grammar, right from the start I had every incentive to pick at his writing. But, alas, I was disappointed. Finding only the most minor of grammatical errors, I had to concede the fact that Steil has written a really good book. Tim's breezy writing makes the book a quick and easy read, and conveys efficiently so much of their adventure that the reader cannot help but feel as if he were there for much of the ride.

   Another plus: it's not preachy, or full of phony nostalgia or contempt for "the evils of progress." I love it this book, and I'm not really even a fan of Route 66.

   Luning's pictures are gorgeous. I got to meet him when the two authors did some of their preliminary research on the Chicken Basket, one of the offical Route 66 sites covered early in the book. An unassuming and disarming guy, Luning does not betray that he has a long list of credits. But in the book, Luning cannot hide his talent: a fantastic eye for light and color and balance.

   So enjoy the pictures. But realize they will not really come to life until you actually read the text.

   Route 66 is what an "enthusiast color series" should be.

5 comments about Farming with Horses (Country Workshop).

1. This book provided an excellent read and a good overall picture of the topic. Even though it is written for the American market it has a lot of information that is transferrable to Australia and other countires. A good buy for people interested in the topic, especially for beginners such as myself.



2. The information in Farming with Horses is presented in a clear,and readily understandable manner. This book answers the how and why of harness fit, hooking to a vehicle or implement and how to do it all safely. The photos illustrating the text are of the highest quality. This book is a must read for anyone interested in driving whether for pleasure, show or work.
   
   SMCannon D.V.M.



3. The text and photographs in this book are equally instructional. Especially enlightening is the book's emphasis on the humane approach to farming with drafts -- an approach that benefits the horse, the driver, and the land as well.



4. Steve Bowers is a master at driving. His straightforward, logical approach keeps the principles in this book clear and easy to implement. Bowers keeps both horse and driver safe and working together. Whether you're heading for competition or just work around the ranch, this is a must read. You can apply "Farming with Horses" to any driving discipline.



5. This is the best book on driving horses that I have ever read, and I've read everything on the subject that I can find. The information is not confined to farming with horses. There is valuable information on training, hitching, aligning teams and many other things that is applicable to any type of horse driving. This is a must book for beginners and experience professionals as well.
   
   Dwight G. Bennett, DVM

1 comments about Eric Sloane's Weather Book.

1. I didn't realize we had inherited a copy of this book from my father-in-law until I found it rather late in the semester I took Meteorology. I read it cover-to-cover while studying for the final and managed a 'B' which for me on a science topic was AWESOME. Eric Sloane's simplistic explanations and drawings helped this non-science major grasp some of the tougher concepts.
   
   The only time I really NOTICED how old it is was when he mentioned how the earth would appear if one were to take a trip into space in a suit made of air -- we hadn't landed on the moon when this was written. No mention of ozone or the top two levels of the atmosphere either but, hey, who knew they were there in 1949?

5 comments about A Museum of Early American Tools.

1. This book is dedicated to the pioneer Americans who made their tools, a symbol of sincerity, integrity, and excellence. Mass production made their tools obsolete, along with early individualism, said the author. There was a special tool for every job (pp.vi-vii). In Early America a museum referred to a library of collected facts (p.xi). Shovels were made of wood to prevent harm to grain and apples 9p.xii). A house built of posts and beams used wooden pins which don't rust and loosen like nails. Sloane says that studying the tools used by pioneer Americans reveals their conscience and personality. Things were built to be honest and long-lasting, not to make the most money. There are 48 short chapters and an Index. These drawings are very interesting.
   
   "The Romance of Tools" says a tool was an extension of a man's hand. Some gave pet names to a tool then (p.3), some do today. The Civil War period marked a new era in tool design because of mass-production (p.5). Axe handles became curved, not straight; their end had a "Fawn foot", "Scroll knob", or "Swell knob" (p.7). Early American tools had a traditional design with subtle differences and decorative touches that identify the region of origin (p.6). An ax was the most important tool for early Americans: clear the land of trees, cut fuel, build a house or furniture. Early axes were poll-less; the poll added weight for chopping. There were more than 50 patterns of Axe heads (p.12). The Broad Axe was used to hew round logs into square beams (p.14). Early American roofs were thatched, shingling hatchets were unknown. The claw hammer hasn't changed much since Roman times (p.22). Square-cut nails had greater holding power than round
   nails.
   
   Log-house notches were often made with only an ax (pp.24-25). An adze was used to smooth surfaces (pp.26-27). Scorps hollowed-out wood (pp.28-29). Wedges and froes were used to split wood for shingles, clapboards, and lathes (pp.30-33). Benches and horses were also tools (pp.34-37). The drawknife was used to trim wood, tool handles, spokes, etc. (pp.38-39). Wood was harvested and fastened into giant rafts for transport (pp.40-41). Wood was used in making apple butter and cider (pp.46-47). Two-headed tools are rare (pp.50-51). There are many kinds of chisels (used to make mortises) and gouges (pp.52-55). Planes were used for smoothing and shaping wood (pp.56-65). The various types of saws are described (pp.66-71).
   
   Awls, reams, augers, and gimlets made holes in wood (pp.72-77). Braces or bitstocks drilled holes (pp.78-81). There are other tools (pp.82-85). Sledges were important to move heavy or bulky objects (pp.86-87) when wheeled vehicles could not be used. Various jacks lifted or moved heavy objects (pp.88-89). Most tools can be traced to early blacksmiths (pp.90-91). Nails were made by hand (pp.92-93). Tanners treated rough hides, curriers scraped and softened hides with special tools (pp.94-95). Wheelwrights created spoked wheels held together by an iron outer rim (pp.96-97). There were specialized hammers: flails, flinting picks, bricklayers hammer, ice axe, zaxes (for slate), etc. (pp.98-99). Hay knives cut hay from a haystack; the hay-spade knife also cut up pumpkins (pp.100-101). Scythes and snaths were used to cut grass for hay (pp.102-103). There are other tools that were common a century ago (pp.104-105).



2. I just finised reading the 1976 edition of A Museum Of Early American Tools. I love this book! It is obvious that Mr. Sloane had both a deep understanding and a heartfelt reverence for our American history, the implements that were such an integral part of it, and the ingenious craftsmen who designed and fabricated them. Our early history is indeed told most eloquently by the tools our ancestors devised. And who better to lead us through that story than Eric Sloane. I'm adding more of his books to my wish list.
   Mike Dearing



3. I love tools, especially old tools and I found this book to be a treasure trove of information. As the title claims, it is a museum. For every tool there are one or two drawings and a short blurb on the tools were used and made - frequently I want more detail than this, but it is a starting place, just as any museum. For the price, this book is a good value for any lover of old tools.



4. Eric Sloane doing what he does best. The illustrations are superb as usual and so are the descriptions of how the tools were used. This book is bound to make you think differently the next time you are at a yard sale or fleamarket standing in front of a bunch of old rusty tools.



5. I would have to say this is one of my best books! The pen and ink drawings a wonderful. So well writen with so much information. I just finished reading this again and feel like going and useing some of the tools in there that i own! I love working with wood and other materials in the American way. Some of the tecniques he dessribes are so ture an i use the all the time! If u love America and/or hand tools, you must own this book.

5 comments about Encyclopedia of American Farm Implements & Antiques.

1. This is a great read for anyone interested in old farm equipment. The only problem was that I recognized too many of the pieces from my childhood and started realizing how old I am.



2. C. H. Wendel's Encyclopedia of American Farm Implements & Antiques is a first-rate work. The illustrations are exceptional, and the scope impressive. Wendel documents the machinery of manufacturing giants and the lesser-known manufacturers from the middle nineteenth century to the middle twentieth century. If you need to identify a machine or manufacturer Wendel's book ought to be your first source.



3. I bought this book as a gift for my father, who collects antique farm tools and tractors, has done his own restorations, and goes to antique shows all the time. I have no higher praise than this: when he settles in for the night, he gets in his favorite chair and opens that book. He may read it for hours, or browse a few pages, but it's his favorite reading material.



4. Once again, Charles Wendel shows that he is the undisputed master author of obscure antique farm implements and tractors.Wendel shows old sales brochure engravings of everything from hog oilers to corn shellers and hay loft pulleys. From feed grinders to hay tedders, and EVERYTHING in between.A MUST READ if you want a guide to antique farm implements from the 1800's through the 1950's.



5. It's hard to find info on old farm machinery. I especially liked the close-up illustrations of wooden windmills

5 comments about Designing Disney.

1. A bit lacking in the real nuts and bolts, but this is clearly a well done overview into the minds of some of the best Disney has to offer. Easy to read, and also a pleasure to read, left me wishing that disney appoints some one to really pick John's mind in case he leaves us some day, now that would be a tragedy, if we loose 1/2 of what this man has learned over a delightful lifetime of serving his customers and guests. Reading this brought me back to the B/W days of TV waiting for Walt, but Walt couldn't have ackomplished anything if it wasn't for the love of the work these people do, and have for the work they love to do.



2. Let's face it. There are hundreds of books about Disney. The movies... the stage shows... the company... the management style... recipes... fiction... even an incredible collection of Walt Disney World Trivia (currently in its second edition!). Occasionally, a book comes through that fills a unique void.
   
   John Hench was a designer with Disney for over 65 years. His designs are as identifiably Disney as anything else coming from the mouse house. In around 150 pages, Hench shares some of his design work in artist's concepts and blueprints. These are beautiful and rare, but it is his insight into the thought behind the design choices that turn this book from yet another Disney book to a text book worth much study.
   
   Many books discussing Disney magic often push the art of looking around, taking note of details. This book helps you to know "How" to look around and "What" you are looking for... Hopefully, you'll never look at it the same way ever again. Entire sections are devoted to in depth discussion on color, costumes, character, line, layout and most of all, story. With over half a century working for Disney, Hench's resume is able to back it all up with beautiful artwork.
   
   If there is one thing that is surprisingly absent from a Disney legend that spent years working directly with Walt, it is a lack of stories that bring you into Walt's presence. It lacks that emotional touch, but makes up for it in intellectual stimulation that will affect your thinking about Disney for many years to come.



3. I do like this book, but it doesn't have the great pictures that the other Imagineering book does. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the Imagineers. It has a lot of text, which will help you understand many aspects of what it means to be an Imagineer. I would recommend getting the other one first, and this one second if you are still interested. They are both great.



4. not exactly what I expected. I was hoping for a more historical perspective, but overall a good book.



5. This is a fascinating look into the mind of the premier Disney designers. Hench explains how every single detail of the Disney parks is designed to fit into a great whole: color, form, space, and even time must reinforce a narrative theme in every single ride or experience, as if the viewer had entered a film sequence. All detail is foreseen - with storyboards! - discussed, and built with this kind of total consistency of experience in mind. I was astounded that the parts were so much more deeply planned than I had imagined.
   
   I read this as part of my research for a writing project on Disney. For this, it was extremely useful and informative. It strikes me that the imagineering method is of great relevance to all managers.
   
   While easy to read quickly, this book will give anyone who likes Disney a fascinating new perspective on one of the great American success stories. Warmly recommended. The writing is clear and to the point, while elegant.

5 comments about The California Coast: The Most Spectacular Sights & Destinations.

1. Detailed guide, excellent narratives with good historical and contemporary information, great pictures. I am planning my trip to California based on the information presented in this book. Good work! Just an idea: it can be a exciting present for all sun and ocean loving people..



2. This is a book we repeatedly buy, since we give this to our house guests as a keepsake of their trip to the Bay area. Since it also mentions the town we live in - Half Moon Bay - it is especially meaningful. Wonderful pictures!



3. I bought this booking thinking it would be a good guide to the hidden gems on the West Coast but found that it was more a coffee table book or souvenir book. If you are looking for something with detailed information on the coastal drive, e.g., highlights, directions, tips, etc. this isn't it. If you want a nice momento of the California Coast, then it's a beautiful book.



4. What an excellently written book. If a picture is worth a thousand words, the authors words are worth a thousand (mental) pictures. But there are very nice photo's as well. Covers nature, towns, and cities with the type of information a tourist or native would appreciate. And if you can't actually do such a trip, you definitely can from your armchair while reading this book. A real pleasure.



5. Stunning photographs!! A beautiful book! Text is most interesting & informative too. Well written. You wish you could jump into the page & pictures themselves. I once lived in California - wish I had this book - years ago! SM Pierrot Olney, MD

4 comments about The American Diner (Motorbooks Classic).

1. This is a wonderful book for we nostalgia nuts! The many photographs and descriptions of pre-fast food America will remind you of simpler times, or make you sad that you missed them.



2. Thanks Mike. I new B 4 hand that the book would B great. I no your work. 2 of the diner pictures R in my home town. In Middletown Connecticut. USA. The color in the book is so nice. By. Marty.



3. "The American Diner" is a delightful book that maintains the high standards Michael Witzel has always set for himself. Very beautiful, informative and entertaining. Chock-full of outstanding images from photographers like Pedar Ness, Ronald Saari and Howard Ande.

   There are many excellent sidebar stories, including one on Jerry Berta's DINERLAND in Rockford, Michigan. This man saved Rosie's Diner, built a miniature golf course and restored another 1947 diner into an art gallery. (I've gotta meet this guy.)

   Another delightful effort from Michael Karl Witzel. "The American Diner" entices me to Hit The Road and experience these wonderful greasy-spoons firsthand, especially those original East Coast joints!




4. Witzel has done it again! The diner images in this book are fantastic, both the vintage and current shots. Many are full page size and more, giving the reader a closeup look at some of America's greatest diners. Along with really informative historical text, each chapter contains a sidebar that highlights a particularly cool diner. It was fun to learn the history of and to see some of the greats like Pal's, Rosies, The Riverhead Grill, the Cutchogue, and Mel's "Googies" Diner in action.

5 comments about The Seasons of America Past.

1. All of the Sloane books are worth reading and owning. As a boy in the 1960s I was very impressed with the pen and ink drawings, more impressed than with the color paintings. (I still am.) I even built models of some of the buildings for grammar school dioramas. In the 1980s, I bought all the titles that were still in print (or remaindered). Buy the Dover reprints and any other editions you can find before they disappear again. Abebooks.com is a good source for OOP books.



2. Another one of Eric Sloane's great historical narratives on the development of America with this book focusing on the seasonal nature of farming.
   
   Thankfully most of Sloane's books are available as reprints as anyone interested in learning about the American way of life, from 1650 to 1900, will find these books real treasures. The text is straight forward, very informative and shows a reverence for all aspects of American farming, craftsmanship, invention and "common sense". The book is illustrated with great sketches and shows the modern urbanite how the rural Americans survived, thrived and prospered.
   
   Any Sloane book is an essential part of a library for those individuals who are feed-up with the urban ratrace and are seeking a simpler, self-supporting, rewarding experience.



3. This is the second Sloane book I've had the unique pleasure to read and I liked it every bit as well as the first. Mr. Sloane is as learned in his subject matter---daily life in the rural American past---as any professor. I love the illustrations and the attention to tiny detail. Truly these books are treasures that preserve information about our past that is so in danger of being lost in the hectic pace of twenty-first-century life. To read this book is to place one's mindset in another era and circumstance. Yes, existence in the past was more physically difficult compared to today but in their own way our forebears lived richly in a world that was every bit as complex and rewarding as our own. This is a book for children, for adults, for anyone open-minded enough to look backward without condescension. I think any thinking person will be greatly impressed.



4. "Possibly as a result of long dependence upon strong electric lighting, we seem to have much poorer night vision today than the average man had a century or two ago."
   It's this sort of historical information that brings the past to life. As a social historian (not accredited, mind you, but I'll go against most any so-called history major), I spend much time and money searching out tid-bits of this type to help give me the understanding of the ways and lives of times past. Seasons of America Past by Eric Sloane is an excellent source of American life in the late 18th and 19th centuries. Taking the reader through a full year of everyday life - month by month - Mr. Sloane shows through his many sketches and fluid writing so many aspects of the lives of our ancestors (including what was most likely considered mundane by those who lived it!) that most supposed historians do not even touch upon. Put into a seasonal order, one will see how each of our four seasons affected the lives of our long past relatives.
   Here are a few more bits of information strewn throughout this book:
   "May was once the season for sending May baskets, now a forgotten custom. The first spring flowers were gathered by young girls and left in baskets on the doorsteps for their parents..."
   "The American farmer...drank cider daily at his table instead of water or milk..."
   "Plow Monday was the first day after the end of Christmas festivities, when the back-to-work spirit started with getting all farm equipment in shape."
   "Stump pulling was one of the few cash businesses, and at twenty five cents a stump - the standard price in 1850 - a man could pull twenty to fifty stumps a day and make a most exceptional living."
   "Independence Day...was first ushered in by bell-ringing and shooting. When Chinese firecrackers entered the scene of Independence Day (in the early 1800's), bell-ringing vanished."
   "Today the word PICKLE brings to mind a prepared cucumber, but pickle in the old days was a verb that referred to the...process and not to the actual product."
   149 pages filled with everyday life of times gone by. Winter clothing, ice houses, broom making, sugaring time, seasonal cooking, wells, farm sleds and sleighs, spinning wheels, gathering of splint wood for baskets, herb dyes and the colors they made, and so much more packed into an easy to read format.
   With this and other books by Eric Sloane, as well as the wonderful 'Everyday Life' books (such as 'Expansion of Everyday Life') one can almost feel as if they can live in a different time.



5. No truer words were ever spoken when it comes to summarizing the content of this magnificent book. Eric Sloane describes the seasons of the early American way of life in a most revealing and splendid fashion. Beginning with the month of March: spring - the New Year according to the seasons; Sloane takes the reader through a year full of the sowing and reaping of the harvest in its season.

5 comments about The Haunted Mansion: From the Magic Kingdom to the Movies.

1. JUST WHEN YA THINK YOU MIGHT KNOW QUITE A BIT ABOUT SOMETHING AT DISNEY, A BOOK LIKE THIS COMES ALONG AND REMINDS YOU OF JUST HOW MUCH DISNEY PUTS INTO THEIR ATTRACTIONS, AND JUST HOW MUCH YOU ACTUALLY "DON'T" KNOW!



2. Excellent pictures, interesting information. This is a must have for Disney fans of the Haunted Mansion! It even covers Disney's other haunted mansions around the world, and the Haunted Mansion movie. Everything you ever wanted to know!



3. THis book was great! A ton of information on the ride! I couldnt put it down! It was great.



4. This book is a must read for ALL ages and ANYONE interested in Disney theme park attractions around the globe. Any Disney fan knows that the Imagineers are very particular about what is revealed to the general public in terms of how they make their Disney 'magic' and I was pleasantly surprised (being an avid Disney fan myself) by the research that went into the making of this book and the amount of knowledge shared with the reader - it DOES in fact reveal some secrets of the mansion and never before seen history of the making of the attraction. (It confirms and dispels some rumors about the attraction once and for all too!) A pattern of discussion is followed throughout the book as you are verbally walked through the mansion's corridors and rooms. Surrell consistently covers the Haunted Mansion in a logical order (Disneyland, Walt Disney World, Tokyo Disneyland and Disneyland Paris) in every chapter. He takes the subject matter full circle by including information about how the attraction was translated to the big screen, and gives the reader insight to how decisions were made pertaining to set design, costume design, and casting for the movie of the same name. If you want an intelligent, thorough and enjoyable read about a classic Disney attraction, and especially an insight to the magic that is Imagineering, this is a MUST READ!



5. You buy this book thinking it's a great "behind-the-scenes" resource, but it's not. Yes, there is some background information, but the book skips confusingly from park to park, and offers very little technical information on the special effects. The photos are all standard Disney promotional stuff...this book tells you what Disney wants you to know, and nothing else.
   
   Go to doombuggies.com for a much better treatment of this classic ride.