5 comments about Writing Down the River: Into the Heart of the Grand Canyon.

1. this book was confusing and very not meaningfull i thought that page lambert did a bad job.



2. Very good reading, with excellent comments on the Grand Canyon, the experiences of rafting the river and essays on how the canyon touches people in different ways. I have just completed an 8 day trip of over 280 miles in the canyon and experienced every emotion and awe-inspiring moment described in the book. The photographs are worth the purchase price alone. A must read before and after taking a trip down the wonderous Colorado in the Grand Canyon



3. Writing Down the River grabs your heart and broadens your understanding of the power of the western landscape. The photographs are amazing in themselves; the essays stunning.

   Sybil Downing, award winning author of Ladies of the Goldfield Stock Exchange




4. Writing Down the River grabs your heart and broadens your understanding of the power of the western landscape. The photographs are amazing in themselves; the essays stunning.

   Sybil Downing, award winning author of Ladies of the Goldfield Stock Exchange




5. I haven't received my copy yet but I can certainly review the experience. I saw Kathleen Jo Ryan on PBS on Sunday morning and as each photograph flashed up on the screen I just gasped because I too made this journey last summer and each photo brought back to me the precious days on that journey of a lifetime, recognizing each cave, slot canyon, falls and utter and absolute peace that I found in that place. Words just can't do it. I could go on for hours about it (and often do) The only words that I can find that come close os to say simply that it touched my soul. No one who makes this journey can ever be the same again. If you do nothing else in your life -make this trip. See Ms Ryan's book for an introduction.

   I plan to go again next summer. I look forward to my copy of this book of memories to keep me warm until I can be back on the river again.

2 comments about Wooden Churches: A Celebration.

1. I originally bought this book because Rick Bragg wrote the introduction to it. It goes without saying that his intro alone is worth the price of the book. But I was also elated to rediscover avenues of reading to follow. Accompanying the marvelous photos are excerpts from literary icons. Doris Betts, Richard Wright, Ferroll Sams, Flannery O'Connor; they're all there and more! Could their works have been as memorable without the presense of old wooden churches as living, breathing characters? I found myself making a list of these writers that I suddenly longed to reread. This book is a must have for anyone who loves southern writing and black and white photography. But, it would make a great gift for absolutely anyone! The pictures are addicting, the texts, mesmerising! You will smile, cry, yearn for, and remember when you look at this book. Buy it!



2. The combination of stunning photography and memorable prose in this book makes it an excellent choice for anyone interested in churches, history, simple architecture, or words. It is a joy both to look at and to read.

3 comments about Route 66: The Highway and Its People.

1. All too many Route 66 books focus on the Kitsch and the primary colors one could see on the Road, and are written in a jokey, 'weren't people in the old days a hoot' style that wears thin in a few pages.
   
   This book by contrast, takes a more serious look at the Mother Road. The photos are by turns otherworldy and 'down home' and the writing is crisp, factual and engaging. I found out more than I ever expected about the Road, its rise and fall, and the people on the road and in the towns along its path.
   
   It's reminiscent in many ways of some of Studs Turkel's oral histories, as the people 'of and on' the road tell their stories in first person, but here you also have the advantage of the journalistic and historical perspective the writer offers, and the undeniable impact of the photos, which tell stories that mere words cannot.
   
   ---------
   
   Some quotes from press reviews of the book include:
   
   Wall Street Journal
   '...while the new interstates are faster and safer, it is impossible not to miss old Route 66. Fortunately, the words and pictures of this delightful book preserve the memories of a road that ran through everyone's life.'
   
   Library Journal
   'Route 66-the late, lamented American Main Street that ran from Chicago to the Pacific-is here given life once again. Those who served its travelers for nearly 50 years (selling Indian artifacts, 'hamburgs,' and chunks of petrified wood, or renting rooms, patching tires, and digging the wounded out of head-on collisions) offer memories both enthusiastic and touching. . .
   An enjoyable and rewarding book on a uniquely important road that turned the heat up on the American melting pot.'
   
   Arizona Highways
   'Susan Croce Kelly and Quinta Scott spent seven years traveling the route from end to end, interviewing and photographing the people and structures that gave old 66 its flavor. The text is carefully researched and well written, and the 93 photographs (appropriately, black and white) provide convincing images of ordinary people and places lacking the glamour of those at either end of the 2,200-mile-long line.'
   
   Booklist
   'The evocative photographs and interviews pay tribute to thousands of small businesses and the people who fueled, sheltered, and entertained millions of travelers. This is a fascinating study of individual entrepreneurs and the growth of advertising, as well as a paean to a vanished way of life.'
   
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   I recommend this book to anyone interested in histories of the 20th century, the impact of the automobile in American life, and to anyone who appreciates fine photography.



2. I really enjoyed this book as it was one of my fisrt to purchase about Route 66. This book didn't cover only the road but also took you from town to town and introduced you to the People. Great photography added to the experience. This is one book I read over and over.



3. This books contains all that is needed to make the reader -or viewer- want to travel the road, even just by looking at the pictures. It isn't called a photographic essay for nothing. The text is more social oriented and is probably one way to look at the 20th century and its cultural heritage along Historic Route 66. Those readers going travel old 66 might be a little bit disappointed that it does not give many clues to find the locations easily. This is a book about an icon on its own terms.

   A must in your library if you're interested in Route 66.

2 comments about Streetwise 24 Hour MBA (Streetwise).

1. Streetwise 24 Hour MBA is by far the best of the many MBA titles currently available. It is concise yet complete with everything we need and no fluff.



2. The 24 Hour MBA by Alex Hiam is comprehensive, covering everything from effective communications, leadership, motivation, etiquette, and organization. I've studied a lot of business books and this is by far the best! Great, real-world tips and useful business lessons, strategies, etc. make this book as educational as a full college MBA program. I carry this book with me everywhere I go for lessons and advice that I use everyday in the work world. This book is a winner!

No comments about Full of Grace: A Journey through the History of Childhood.

No comments about Where Fire Speaks: A Visit With the Himba (Parallax).

1 comments about Paris Mon Amour.

1. I'm surprised someone hasn't reviewed this book yet. It's quite a treasure.
   
   Some months ago, during an excursion to the Met in NYC, I was feeling a little homesick for Paris, so my eye was immediately drawn to this book. I'm really quite glad that I found it, for it's easily one of my favorite photography books. It actually reads like a book of essays, but in a photographical format. There is an introduction at the front (in French, English, and German) giving a brief background in the history of French photography, but one can easily enjoy the book without bothering with this intro. The pictures pretty much speak for themselves, from mid-19th century Parisian alleyways to the joy on people's faces during the city's liberation in 1944.
   
   First things first: the book is slightly taller than most books, so it may be a little tricky to store on a shelf. I made do, particularly since I use those metal cube shelves you get from Target, which are substantially taller than typical bookshelves. All of the photographs are in black and white, which forms some really nice contrasts and creates an overall sense of timelessness. We're dealing, after all, with Paris from the advent of photography to recent fashion (I believe the latest picture in the book is from the 1980s).
   
   As stated earlier in this review, things like the Liberation are covered, as well as lots of other historical events (the Occupation, the student riots of the 1960s, ect). But these great moments in history are the anomalies. For the most part, the book chooses to focus on everyday events in Parisian life, past and present, like little children skipping rope in the 1920s, or well-to-do ladies watching a horse race at the turn of the last century, or two college students trading a kiss in a bistro in the 1970s.
   
   It's the little touches like this that really bring the city to life. Coming from someone who has lived in Paris twice and considers it another home, this is a very nice compliment, and I think it would make a particularly nice addition to one's coffee table. I only wish it were a little bigger, but it's already over 200 pages, so I guess I'm just trying to prolong a good thing.

4 comments about John & Yoko: A New York Love Story.

1. It's a superb book, very nice photos, most of them i have never seen before. The thing that i notice in the pictures, is that John never smiled in this book (apart from the cover and other two pictures, i think), he look's old, small, sad or maybe depresed. I have the Instamatic Karma too, and it's other John that appears on this book, he looks alive, happy and reflexive. In the end, it's a must buy for any Lennon fans.
   
   Thanks.



2. This book is simply wonderful. It has some of the most intimate and beautiful pictures of John and Yoko ever published. A must have for any Lennon fan!



3. John and Yoko: A New York Love Story contains a collection of photographs by photographer Allan Tannenbaum of the long lasting romance between John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Many of the photos may have been seen by the public, and several have not been published before. Tannenbaum shows John and Yoko in their most intimate moments, which were shot at New York's Sperone Westwater Gallery and Central Park; the concluding photographs do not need too much description and show fans paying tribute to John as well Yoko posing in the same spot where John and she had walked days before. And by looking at the photographs, one can see it was yet another end to an era.
   
   The most interesting part about the book is its beautiful layout. With the turn of the first page one can see what they are in store for. The pages are comprised of a variety of size photos from proofs to blown-up portraits of John and Yoko in glorious b/w and color, which capture their candidness as a couple and individually; Tannenbaum and book designer Barbara Genetin do a great job displaying the images.
   
   Overall, this is a highly recommended book for John and Yoko fans or photography aficionados. With its over-sized coffee table book format, this may make a nice addition to anyone's book collection.



4. Allen Tannenbaum's book "John And Yoko: A New York Love Story" is a candid photo album of John and Yoko at work and play in and around New York City. Tannenbaum is granted amazing access to the couples lives. The photos are beautiful and give one a sense of intimacy of John and Yoko's life together. The overall effect of the book is to remind us of the tragic lost of John Lennon for Yoko, Sean, and the rest of us.

1 comments about Luxury Houses Country (Luxury Houses).

1. With room to spread out; often a view of the ocean, valley, mountain or lake; fewer restrictions on things like building codes, the opportunity to develop fantastic houses away from city life has long been popular. At one end of the scale is a crowded campground or small house in a crowded area. At the other end are the houses shown here.
   
   In this book the author has selected twenty-two houses that I believe any of us would call luxurious. From a 16,000 square foot house in upstate New York overlooking a valley to homes with a view of the sea in Hawaii, Italy and other places, the homes here are fantastic. Each house is profusely illustrated with color pictures.
   
   This book is produced by teNeues. The teNeues books are truly beautiful. The company is headquartered in Germany and they bring a sense of quality to their books that is not common. The books are printed on heavy paper using very high quality printing techniques. While this is essentially a coffee table picture book, or perhaps an idea book for the house you are planning, it is beautifully done, almost a work of art.

1 comments about Historic Photos of Sacramento (Historic Photos.).

1. You know that inexplicable sense of mood about times past that can sometimes come upon us unaware? Maybe a scent from a perfume forgotten, or the flavor of chewing gun not chewed for decades, or a song from a gone by era will trigger it. As I was perusing this fine collection of black and white photos of early Sacramento I was touched again and again with that inexplicable mood that comes from the remembrance of things past.
   
   For Marcel Proust it was the taste of madeleine cake soaked in lime flowers that aroused the memories and evoked the delicious sense of mood. For many of us something similar happens when we look back at photos of what life was like many decades ago.
   
   I grew up in California--although not in Sacramento. Nonetheless the photos showing Kress's and the Owl Drug Store and a theater marquee announcing the showing of a new Shirley Temple or Joan Fontaine picture show as seen in this book are not different from what I recall on the streets of Long Beach or Los Angeles where I grew up. The men in their fedoras and the women with scarves covering their hair bring back a time and way of life that I knew as a kid. The Armistice Day parades with the bands and the soldiers marching past Florshein's shoe store or Montgomery Ward's are nearly the same in Sacramento as in L.A.
   
   There's one photo per page, 199 in all, the earliest showing the Central Pacific Depot in downtown Sacramento, ca. 1880, and the latest showing Spiro Agnew speaking (with Governor Ronald Reagan watching) on the Capitol steps in 1969. There are photos of fires and flooded streets, and muddy streets and dusty streets and even a pretend train wreck at the state fair in 1917 (p. 65). We see the evolution of transportation from horses and stage coaches to steam engine railroad trains to diesels and the electric red cars of my childhood, and also from model Ts and coupes to the finned sedans of the fifties. The billboards of the times and the signs on the sides of buildings tell us that you could get a room for fifty cents and then a dollar or two a night. We can see ice trucks and brewery wagons with barrels of beer pulled by horses. I was amused to see that the Western Hotel at 3rd and K streets, ca. 1931, offered nightly rates from 35 cents to a dollar and up, along with "Rummy in our large clean card room." "E. E. Todd, prop.," also advised that rummy checks could be "cashed for rooms or merchandise." (p. 107)
   
   The book is beautifully presented with a handsome glossy dust jacket with the photos on heavy, expensive paper, held together with a sturdy binding. All of the photos are from the Sacramento Archives and Museum Collection Center, and the crisp text and captions are by James Scott and Tom Tolley.