Product Description

Bitter Freedom is an insightful evaluation of the pivotal role of the Freedmen's Bureau during Reconstruction in war-torn South Carolina as written by a young bureau agent eager to do his part in rebuilding a divided nation. In early 1866 Major William Stone of the 19th Regiment of the Massachusetts Volunteers, having survived four major Civil War battles and three combat wounds, arrived in South Carolina to assume his duties in the newly formed Freedmen's Bureau. Spanning nearly three years of this service, his recently discovered first-person narrative chronicles his insightful observations on the postwar South and his experiences in carrying out the bureau's efforts in voter registration, education, land reform, civil rights enforcement, and mediation of racial disputes. Stone was diligent in his duties and detailed in his writings, the result of which is a compelling recollection of turbulent race relations in small towns of the upstate surrounding Anderson and along the Savannah River near Aiken.

That Stone was the son of a prominent New England abolitionist minister is apparent in his critical commentary on slave culture and in his perceptions of its negative impact on the morality of whites and blacks alike. Likewise his boyhood experiences on a small farm color his assessment of what he viewed as the wastefulness of Southern agricultural methods. Stone's background, combat experiences, and earnest inclination toward public service make for a fascinating vantage point in his vivid descriptions of the poverty, political corruption, racial hatreds, explosive violence, and corrosive animosity toward all things Yankee he witnessed in the defeated South. Yet he was so moved by the possibilities for progress he saw in South Carolina that, after his Freedmen's Bureau service ended, he went on to establish a successful law practice in Charleston and was eventually appointed as the state's attorney general.

Edited by his descendants, Stone's recollections remind modern readers of the harsh circumstances and bitter emotions of South Carolinians immediately following the Civil War and of the efforts of some to mend social and economic wounds. The record of service is augmented with an introduction by historian Lou Falkner Williams that sets the writings in the broader context of Reconstruction history.

Product Description
John von Neumann and Marshall Stone were two giants of Twentieth Century mathematics. In honor of the 100th anniversary of their births, a mathematical celebration was organized featuring developments in fields where both men were major influences.

This volume contains articles from the AMS Special Session, Operator Algebras, Quantization and Noncommutative Geometry: A Centennial Celebration in Honor of John von Neumann and Marshall H. Stone. Papers range from expository and historical surveys to original research articles. All articles were carefully refereed and cover a broad range of mathematical topics reflecting the fundamental ideas of von Neumann and Stone.

Most contributions are expanded versions of the talks and were written exclusively for this volume. Included, among others, are articles by George W. Mackey, Nigel Higson, and Marc Rieffel. Also featured is a reprint of P.R. Halmos's The Legend of John von Neumann.

The book is suitable for graduate students and researchers interested in operator algebras and applications, including noncommutative geometry. ... Read more

Product Description
Children are full of questions, and this innovative series encourages them to find the answers by getting their hands into scientific explorations. Adding exciting and eye-opening discoveries to any science curriculum, this developmental approach guides children in acquiring the skills of inquiry. Four units for each grade level provide activities that help students build investigative and emerging literacy and math skills as they complete easy-to-do experiments and tasks.Grade 2 ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (2)

Looks good to me!
The book came as promised by the seller, in the condition promised, promptly, too. I will be hiking this summer at Beartooth, so I'm hoping this book will guide me to some beautiful day hikes.

Great trail guide!
Mr. Stone has a wonderful guide that is dead on accurate with his descriptions.Good maps and I like the length and elevation gain trail detail.Other guides simply say moderate or difficult trail but I like to know the specifics so I can make my own determination.The only thing he needs is a flatlander conversion chart.When he says 2 hours he must be talking about someone with lungs built for that elevation and in very good shape.Us North Dakotans need a time conversion chart that would remind us to add 50% to each hikes time estimate!!I'm buying his Bozeman hike book next as a gift for a fellow hiker. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (2)

Delivers More or Less What it Promises
This guide describes 80 short to medium length day hikes in and around Yosemite National Park.The number is inflated somewhat because some of the "individual" hikes are actually pieces of slightly longer day hike-able loops.

Since this is a book on day hikes and not backpack hikes, the trails come almost exclusively from the more developed southern half of the park.Difficulty ranges from flat 1/2-mile strolls to a 7 mile, 2700 foot climb to Upper Yosemite Falls.Thus, Stone does a good job of picking hikes that are manageable for most people in decent physical condition, though some are much more difficult than others.The thought occurred to me that this guide would be useful to a wider range of people if Stone had included a couple of longer trails (the hike up Half Dome, for example).Some would argue that such hikes fall outside the scope of this guide, but this point serves to highlight the fact that the scope is somewhat narrow, and a person buying this guide should know that going in.Nevertheless, within this narrow scope, trail selection remains a strength of this guide.

Each hike contains a bare-bones style map, a summary of trail facts, driving directions, and a short trail description.I would like the trail descriptions to be more thorough and detailed, but this is how you cram 80 hikes into 200 pages.Also, this guide does not classify the hikes as easy/moderate/difficult as many trail guides do.Rather, Stone simply gives the trail's distance and elevation gain.This is a minor problem: a difficult ford, boulder scramble, or steep steps can add much difficulty to a hike but effect neither of the presented statistics.Worse yet, this difficulty may not come out in the trail descriptions due to their brevity.

In summary, while this guide has no major weaknesses, there are enough minor ones to keep it out of the 5-star category, in my opinion.If you plan to do some serious hiking or backpacking in Yosemite, you will need to look elsewhere.On the other hand, if you want a collection of scenic, manageable, front-country trails to hike while you are visiting the park, then this guide is a solid addition to your library.

In and Around Yosemite:25 new trails for dedicated day hikers.
Yosemite National Park is an example of what government does best.It preserves some of the most scenic land in the country and promotes popular recreation.The government could do a slightly better job of management, but still, Yosemite is quite possibly the crown jewel of the National Park system, with apologies to the Grand Canyon, Great Smokey Mountains, and Yellowstone.It also offers some of the best hiking in California and this 3rd edition of Robert Stone's 'Day Hikes in Yosemite' is by far the most comprehensive listing of short walks in the Park.

Like many other hiking guides, this one lists some of Yosemite's classic hikes.From short walks to Bridalveil Falls and the Lower Yosemite Falls Trails, to longer hikes out to North Dome and down the 4 mile trail, this book has a lot to offer.It does not feature the premier hike in Yosemite, the trip to Half Dome, but at 16 miles and nearly 5,000 feet of elevation gain, that day hike is a little beyond the capability of many.On the other hand, a real strength of this book is that Stone highlights many shorter hikes that may buy you a moment's peace, even in one of the most heavily visited parks in the US.Streamside walks to Carlon Falls and Foresta Falls, found also in the earlier edition, are pleasant walks on which one will rarely find many other hikers.But this edition also includes more than a dozen hikes just outside the borders of the park that are quiet, isolated, and scenic.Indeed, at a time when the Mariposa grove is crawling with tourists, many of whom are riding the tram through the woods, the nearby Nelder Grove is quiet and almost devoid of people.At one point, according to naturalist Jeffrey Schaffer, both were part of a single larger grove, but separated now by soil type and a political park boundary, you would be forgiven for thinking they are worlds apart.Stone describes 3 wonderful short trails in the region, all of which can be hiked in a single afternoon.

In all, this is a nice book.With 25 more hikes than the previous edition, it is as close to a "comprehensive" day hiking guide as you can find.It does not, of course, explore the backcountry of Yosemite in any detail.I would recommend Schaffer's, Yosemite National Park:A Complete Hiker's Guide for those who want to get more than a few hours distant from a road or trailhead.But for most tourists who want to do more than drive through the park, this book is an excellent choice.Stone has once again written a solid book for his target audience.

... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Stones Up to 1981
Published by Rolling Stone magazine, this pretty decent bio of the Rolling Stones has some great photos and pulls no punches.

Follows the lads from infancy (no kidding... great baby photos) on up to 1981, with plenty of tales of sleaze and drugs and the rock and roll lifestyle.Palmer certainly a respectful fan and respected rock critic (a Rolling Stone mag regular, he taught courses in Rock history at Yale, amongst other institutions), a good choice for authoring this book.

Tremendous photos (the group let photographers into their homes and onto their tour planes), sometimes pairing Keith or Mick or even dear old Brian with some other rock legend.Performance photos, studio takes, candid snaps, amusingly styled poses most of us wouldn't otherwise see. Lots of views of decadence, drugs, and drama.Most of these guys survived, as we know, and the book postulated their physical longevity and musical success.Palmer just as amazed as the average fan, but the book is informative and an interesting read.

A few places, there are excerpted lyrics, but don't expect full tabs or all words to any song. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A Breakthrough
He uncover the potential of our mind and brain.This book taught us to use both of our brain,the left and right hemisphere for our benefit,even though the instruction is short.If you are interested more you should buy the book "You The Healer" by Jose Silva.This book is good to read if you want to improve yourself but a warning,you have to read it with an open mind and attitude,if not you will confuse yourself.When i said open mind i mean a leap in faith.You will explore the unknown and pls don't be afraid to find out. ... Read more

Product Description
In July 1799, a French officer serving in Napoleon’s Egyptian expedition unearthed a granite block bearing text in three different scripts — Greek, demotic Egyptian, and hieroglyphics. Following the discovery, a remarkable competition ensued for possession of the stone as well as for decoding its inscription. Using all the elements of a detective thriller, the authors, a well-known novelist and a leading Egyptologist, tell the story of international intrigue surrounding the intellectual quest to crack the stone’s code — the key to reading ancient Egyptian texts for the first time in 14 centuries. Also included are reproductions of the stone and its inscriptions as well as portraits of the key figures involved in its translation.Amazon.com Review
The Rosetta Stone is a dense summary of the 1799 discovery in Egypt of the granite block that, by virtue of having been engraved with identical text in three different languages (Greek, demotic--or "common"--ancient Egyptian, and hieroglyphics) made possible the deciphering of the last, the long-lost language of ancient Egypt. The book follows the false starts and feuds of French and British scholars, culminating in the success of the brilliant, precocious Orientalist Jean-Francois Champollion, who came to realize in 1824 that the ideograms were a complex mix of the semantic and the phonetic. The book includes a translation of the Rosetta Stone's script and a small sampling of hieroglyphic translation. The subject matter is arcane; the book, brief and somewhat bloodless, is finally less than engaging. --H. O'Billovich ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

A very light read - in everyway
I was looking very forward to reading about the Rosetta Stone after seeing it in the British Museum. What should be a very interesting and in many ways an exciting story, was turned into a boring, quickly read, fact-based book which offered no insight or understanding into how the translation of hieroglyphics was accomplished. The book can be summed up in one sentence: "Someone found this stone with 3 types of writing on it and then a few other people figured out how to translate hieroglyphics from it." The end.

I was not expecting the book to teach me how to translate, nor become a expert myself, but I did expect to gain some understanding of how the process worked, how difficult it was, and some of the dead-ends that occurred. There was absolutely no insight as to how it was done. They did not even cover the side stories of people who claimed to be able to read hieroglyphics, which is fascinating in and of itself. Again, the book skimmed right over this whole topic. It was more educating and interesting to read the topic on Wikipedia then to read this book.

The birth of archaeological linguistics
This book is highly useful to understand in plain language the real endeavour of archaeologists when confronted to the Rosetta Stone at teh beginning of the 19th century, to the various writing systems of the old dead Egyptian language. These archaeologists had to become linguists and that was difficult for them because they did not have the slightest idea of how a language can work. The first attempts failed because they did not take into account the fact that the signs they were trying to understand and identify were a writing system for a particular language that you had to visualize as a language in order to understand the writing system. The key for that was also to visualize the various uses and hence discursive situations that this language and its writing systems (there were three writing systems for the old Egyptian language before the final coptic one took over before Arabic arrived) were supposed to satisfy. The break-through effort came from Jean François Champollion who stated that after all the hieroglyphs were an overall alphabetical writing system. From there came the penetration of the language that today we know pretty well. This book is honest about the various contributions of different people at the time and the value of each one of them, with Champollion's attempt being the main step towards a full understanding of the language. The book also concentrates on the particular role of the Rosetta Stone and all the events happening around it, particularly the national embroglio between England and France as for the righteous ownership of it, only solved in 1972 after a discreet but effective intervention of Queen Elizabeth II. An essential book for those who want to understand how linguists decipher strange languages and how linguists reconstruct dead languages, but also how humanity invented writing systems corresponding both to the languages they transcribed and the uses they were supposed to satisfy. The methods have not basically changed since Champollion, and that must be his essential merit.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, Université Paris Dauphine, Université Paris I Panthéon Sorbonne

Academic and Dull
This is an English translation of a French publication.I chose it based on the favorable reviews it received and was extremely disappointed.The Rosetta Stone is a fascinating subject and an important find, yet I found this hard to read (boring) and difficult to follow (many facts, little in the way of explanation.)I have not read any of the other books Amazon carries on this subject and am therefore unable to make another recommendation, but if I had it to do over again, I would purchase a different title.

The amazing and true story of the Rosetta Stone
Collaboratively written by novelist and journalist Robert Sole and Egyptologist Dominique Valbelle (President of the French Egyptological Society), The Rosetta Stone: The Story Of The Decoding Of Hieroglyphics is the amazing and true story of the Rosetta Stone, from its discovery by Napoleon's army during their sojourn in Egypt, to how the Rosetta Stone became the key to deciphering ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics -- which had not been used as a written language for over fourteen centuries. An amazing saga about the reclamation of history itself, The Rosetta Stone is a highly recommended addition to both school and community library Archaeology and Egyptology reference collections.

Filled with insights and a sense of action
The Rosetta Stone shares the history of the Rosetta stone that contained text written in early Greek, Egyptian and hieroglyphs enabling a link to a longlost language. From its discovery in 1799 to its theft from the French by the British army and the studies which have lead to earth shaking linguistic discoveries, The Rosetta Stone is filled with insights and a sense of action. ... Read more

Product Description
The first title in a new series introduces the countries of Chaldus and Yndor, where a brutal war left the mages with blood on their hands. To rid the world of the destructive magic, they performed the Binding. But someone is murdering former Chaldean ministers, and now, former spy Galatine Hazard attempts to catch this wily assassin who could bring the country to the brink of war. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Where is the finally?
I bought Harzard's Price and really enjoyed the book, until I came to the end to find it continued on in another book. Bought Dark Waters, to also find no real ending to the story. I am so disapointed to find no others books to contiune the chronicles to the conclusion of the storyline.

bravo!
this book along with the second in the series, was sitting on my shelf for nearly a year when i took it with me on a recent trip out of the country.i finished both in record time and was unavailable for two of my seven days on my vacation (to my wife's chagrin).i found it a wonderfully easy read spurred on by interesting,complex characters.in a crowded fantasy genre, i believe a refreshing new voice has arrived with mr. stone's first book and i look forward to a long career with more of the same.when is the third book coming?

Fantasy at it's Best
Mr. Stone, a first time author I believe, weaves an immensely thick plot in just a few hundred pages.Character development is superb for those who are kept around for book two (I know as I have now read book two); others are swiftly dealt with in an aggressive style that only Stone could conceive of.His writing style is mature, his plots are rich and thick, and his imagination toward death and dismemberment at times is alarming.Who is Mr. Stone and what has he been through?What kind of person am I for enjoying this sort of thing? (I enjoyed the character development of Hannibal Lechter too, so this sort of thing does not come as a suprise to those who know me.) Hazard's Price is a must read for those wanting more out of the genre.Mr. Stone is finally here to serve it up.I enjoyed Hazard's Price but I even think more highly of it after reading Dark Waters.(Dark Waters deserves 6 stars!)Hazard's Price serves an elaborate set-up so that the action can really kick into gear in Dark Waters.Fasten your seat belts because this series is awesome!

Flawed, but promising
My impression, on finishing Hazard's Price, is that it was a first book by an author who is going to be really good once he properly hits his stride.The situation he sets up is complex, the characters are varied and two-dimensional.However, there were (for me) too many main characters who had minimal time devoted to showing them, so it was difficult to distinguish who they were and why they were doing things.The head of the Ministry of Intelligence could have been more intelligent, the Complex Backstory behind the friendship of Hazard and his companion is synopsized a couple of times and portrayed as Highly Significant, but it always comes up in bullet list form and I could never care about it properly.

I've read far worse first books, with far less ambitious goals, and I do look forward to seeing the rest of the series.

Great Read!
It's refreshing to read a SF&F book that is written above an 8th grade level. A very interesting story with action, adventure and magic - but the magic is not overused as a device as commonly seen in this genre. Much more of a "cliffhanger" at the end than I would have expected; I hope the next book in the series comes out soon!! Good character development and some interesting opportunities for future series related to this one (the Khrine for instance). ... Read more

Product Description
LA TIMES BEST SELLER! Day Hikes Around Los Angeles includes 82 hikes in and around a 50-mile radius of the city. Now in its fourth edition, this hiking guide has made the LA Times Bestseller list. Outdoor people living in the city will find the book essential. This
comprehensive guide provides access to the green areas in the metropolitan area, including coastal walks, mountain climbs, and solitary retreats in addition to well-known sites, such as a hike that treks up to the “HOLLYWOOD” sign.
Despite the imminent presence of the Los Angeles metropolis, there are thousands of acres of natural, undeveloped land with miles of hiking trails, from the coast to the interior mountains and valleys. Day Hikes Around Los Angeles includes a cross-section of scenery, ecosystems, and difficulty levels. Highlights include sweeping views from the ocean to
the city, magnificent rock formations, waterfalls, bluffs, ridge walks, weather-sculpted canyons, old ranch roads, architectural ruins, filming locations, large state parks, and cool shady retreats. All hikes can be completed during the day (although map sources and references are included for extending hikes).
Each hike includes a detailed map, accurate driving and hiking directions, and a quick overview of distance/time/elevation. Larger overall maps show the hike locations in the greater metropolitan area. The summaries allow the hiker to choose a trail appropriate to their
ability and desire.
Companion hiking guides, also in the Day Hike Books series, include Day Hikes Around Ventura County, Day Hikes Around Santa Barbara, and Day Hikes On the California Central Coast.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Great, but a little outdated
A great book to explore Los Angeles area, the hikes are fun my husband and I go almost every weekend and use this book. The hikes mentioned are great but the only thing is that most of them are outdated. I am pretty good with navigation but still we got lost few times on some of the trails in Griffith park as some of them are interconnected and not marked at all. We loved this book so we ordered the latest edition and cant wait to use that for our future hikes. Im hope the maps and directions on that would be more precise and up to date.

Nice book
Nice book.Has clear directions to all the trails.Can't wait to put it to use.

Good hikes if you can find them
I tried one of the Griffith Park hikes this weekend and between the map/directions to the trail head being unspecific and there not being trailhead signs at the park, it was quite difficult to find the proper route.We ended up going the wrong way (the back way of the loop) and then found the front end after going up a different trail.It turns out that the book left out a fork in the trail before the fork that we were supposed to go on.It seems like the book is good for the basic hike ideas but a more detailed map would be necessary to find the proper trails.

Great Suggestions for walks, Needs better maps
I went on a number of the suggested hikes - all were good ideas and well described in the text, also nicely sorted by area - hill range. The maps leave a bit to be desired - best to check the trip out on Google maps first, especially if you are combining routes into a single longer hike.

Not bad, but some serious issues
I haven't gone on all 82 hikes in this book. But I have gone on a few, and on some the directions are not quite right. So if you get this book, here's some notes:

Hike 51: Rustic Canyon
This hike is awesome. However, if you go, go with someone who has gone before, or you WILL get lost. The trail in the canyon is not maintained whatsoever, and has pretty much disappeared at the tail end. The best way out is to slog through the stream, so you will be soaked. Be prepared.

Hike 66: Brush Canyon
It says to reach Mt Bell, to take a right on Mount Hollywood Drive. It's a left. The turnoff isn't far, but it's to the left. If you go right, the first turnoff takes you up to Mt Hollywood (a back way to Hike 68).

Many, many hikes:
Be very careful - there are numerous hikes where North is not at the top of the map. On some hikes, North is the bottom of the map. Who does that? If you don't realize this, you're going to get lost. Be sure to double check.

Other than that, some great hiking routes. Many are pretty far from "Los Angeles" - so be prepared for a bit of a drive sometimes. Also, there are NO hikes east of the 5 freeway - even though there are some fantasic hikes above Pasadena, Altadena, Azusa. Even a few above Whittier. They're just not in here at all. The majority of the hikes are nearer to the Ventura County Line than they are to Los Angeles. They're just not in here at all. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (3)

Barebones descriptions
I'd have liked this book much better if it had gone into more detail about the challenge of each hike and had used topo maps. As a previous reviewer has noted, nothing is said about the condition of the roads to the trailheads.Luckily we had a Jeep for the Secret Canyon area. Otherwise we'd have had to turn around.
The descriptions of the hikes are accurate, but they would be much more enticing with a more botany, points of interest, side trips, and history. A couple of local hikers we met on the David Miller Trail told us the story of that tragedy.
I'll make use of the book to locate possible hikes and then go on the Internet to research the details.

useful but flawed
a nice selction of hikes in this book, but beware.the book doesn't warn you that many of the trailheads are not reachable without a high-clearance four-wheel-drive vehicle.the directions to many of the trail heads tell you to head down "unpaved" roads, which are impassable in a standard car.we had to trun back more than once and go in search of an atlernative hike.i've hiked all over the united states and have been down dozens of "unpaved roads" leading to trailheads. but the unpaved roads around sedona are much worse that anything i've ever driven on. it would have been nice to know this in advance.

everything you want/need in a hiking book for the sedona area
This is a great book for day hikers.The hikes are organized by area, the descriptions of the hikes are accurate, and the directions to the trailheads are complete.If you are someone who likes to take your time on a hike or stop and take lots of photos add an extra hour or so to the time listed for the hikes.I like to hike very early - there were some trailhead parking areas that did not open until 8 or 9 am!There was no place to park other than the trailhead parking so we had to scramble to find other hikes.Check out times the night before if you like to leave for a hike at 6am. ... Read more

Product Description
Day Hikes on the California Central Coast is a concise guide to 71 of the most picturesque and rewarding day hikes in the coastal counties of Monterey, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara. All of these great day hikes are on or adjacent to the Pacific coastline and include oceanfront cliffs, promontories, tidepools, canyons, waterfalls, panoramic overlooks and mountain peaks. The hikes are easy to moderately strenuous, accommodating every level of experience. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Short Walks along California's Central Coast
This review focuses on the content of the book and does not, except briefly, discuss the format.

California's central coast offers some of the most beautiful hiking, and least populated, areas of the state.The region from Monterey to Santa Barbara county also provides four season recreation.Temperatures in the winter are typically only 10 degrees cooler than those found in the summer months and while considerable rain falls in the winter, it is nowhere near as heavy as the temperate coastal rain forests north of San Francisco experience.In all, the central coast region is ideal for year round outdoor recreation and this guide provides a good look at the walking opportunities along the coast.

I've done a little more than 20 of the hikes described in this book.Mileage and maps are accurate and driving directions to and from the trailhead are very easy to follow.I personally find the summary of the hikes, found at the beginning of each description, more valuable than the trail descriptions themselves.The latter are a little brief, while natural history and scenic highlights are all found in the former.

For the most part, this is a decent book. But hikers who want strenuous distance treks should look elsewhere. Fully half the hikes in this book are 2 miles or less in distance.Many are nearby or within urban settings.County parks, small nature areas, beaches, and coastal bluffs make up the vast majority of trails in this guide.Those seeking longer hikes would do well to look elsewhere.But if you want to get out and stretch your legs as you drive up the coast, this is a great book to take along.You will find lots of small hidden gems among some of California's nicest coastal counties.

Key words: coast and day hike
This review speaks only for the book's format and NOT for the accuracy of its information.
Good Points
· Very complete. Stretches from Monterey to Carpenteria and covers many coastal hikes missing in other guides
· Easily understood writing style that gives the high points for each trail
· Two-dimensional map illustration for each trail. Appears to be accurate and to scale
· Current (based on ground-checking three listed trails and comparison to other guides for the area)
Weak Points
· Format. Each trail has exactly two pages for narrative and map. I have the feeling that this restricts what the author could have added to the trail narrative
· No topo info or trail profile. Anyone who has no trouble reading topo maps will find the illustrations in this guide limiting. Although the author includes the elevation gain for each trail, this is insufficient for the reader to determine just how tough any trail may be
· Very limited scope inland. "Coast" is in the title and "coast" is what is meant. You won't find much info for trails in Monterey county that have trailheads on the coast but extend inland
· No rating scheme. The author makes no attempt to rate any single hike more scenic or more difficult than any other hike
· No naturalist guide. This book is strictly for trail info
· No GPS waypoint info. Many of us now have handheld GPS receivers and want waypoints for trailheads, trail intersections, and scenic points as a minimum requirement
Summary: Sticking to its title, this book is a complete listing of coastal day hikes from Monterey to Carpenteria. Topo and GPS users or naturalist hikers will need additional resources beyond this book ... Read more

Product Description
The wings of death brush past the Phantom Detective as he pits brains and brawn against the sinister cunning of a diabolical criminal's fiendish brand of deviltry! From the March 1943 issue of The Phantom Detective magazine, here is the lead novel, The Stones of Satan - a thrilling full-length Phantom Detective dventure! ... Read more

Product Description
A biography highlighting the twenty-year career of the five member rock music group that calls itself "The world's greatest rock'n'roll band." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Maybe better than Bloom
I admit to trying to provoke with my title. I regard The Closing of the American Mind as a useful book badly flawed by the rhetorical excesses of Bloom. Bloom wildly overstated much of his case.
In that sense, this fine collection by Robert I. Stone might be the better book in that it is a more sober approach to many of the issues. All of the high seriousness, much of the vitriol with less than half of the nonsense.
Published in 1989, Stone brought together about 50 of the 300 reviews and essays written about CAM by then. He shortened almost all of them somewhat to focus on what he thinks are the main issues that the book raises. He added sections from an interview of Bloom that speak to some of the sections and also added about 10 essays written for this book. Finally, he provides complete citations for hundreds of essays thus allowing for more research by anyone interested.
The writers cover the whole political, cultural and philosphical spectrum.
There are many essays by different Straussians that display the variety of reaction to CAM from his fellow Straussians. There are essays of praise by fellow Straussians like Werner Dannhauser, Walter Nicgorski, and Harvey Mansfield Jr. Less favorable essays were written by George Anastaplo and Harry Jaffa. Also weighing in are such notables as Robert Paul Wolff, Frank Zappa, Jean Bethke Elshtain, Louis Menand, Tom Hayden, Richard Rorty, and Martha Nussbaum. Some of these are wonderful (Wolff's essay is couched as a review of Bloom's book as really being a novel by Saul Bellow about a pedantic old professor called Bloom at the University of Chicago- all this ten years before Ravelstein was published! Could this be the genesis of Bellow's novel?) The essay by William Marty is a wonderful corrective to Bloom's abuse of American history coming from a conservative and religious perspective. Fans of the work of Donald Lutz will find Marty's arguments familiar and persuasive. Some of the essays are not as good. I admire Martha Nussbaum as much as any living philosopher. But her Undemocratic Vistas comes across as a little pedantic and somewhat beside the point. But not completely. I get the feeling that she did not put in much time on this essay. If she had developed the central idea, which is the ridiculousness of Bloom's conceit that "the ancients" all agreed on certain principles, it would have been much more effective against Bloom.
Overall, this is a very useful supplement to Bloom's book. At these prices, I highly recommend it. Or check out from your local library. I really do think it will enrich your reading of CAM.
... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (3)

A great way to get to know the OC
1 to 10 mi. hikes, easily accessable to all. Easy to follow directions make getting to start by bus, where available, simple.

I look forward to spending 2008 using this book.

Ok... but not great.....
I prefer 101 Hikes in Southern California Gary Schad to this one. Origanally I had gotten this one because while I had hiking books about Southern California, I had only a few that were about the local area of Orange County. Honestly, I was very excited to see new places to hike around here, but I was quite disappointed. There are many hikes here in OC that are left out, and only limited references to the many hikes in our various local regional parks. There are no pitures, which I was a little bummed about. It helps for picturing where you are going, and the maps are not defining enough for the pages they take up.
While the book does cover a few interesting places, it covers no more than most other books about hiking in the area that cover all of Southern California.

Big Sky meets Big Urban
The first Robert Stone books I purchased were hiking guides to Yellowstone National Park and the Beartooth Mountains.Both were nice introductions to an area I had spent relatively little time in as an adult.But like many fans of Montana's Big Sky country, Stone eventually discovered the bitter truth, namely that it is cold as heck during the winter there.He now spends winters in California and subsidizes his stay by writing hiking guides to the West Coast.Not a bad lifestyle.

That said, I hesitated to buy this book since Jerry Schad has done such a wonderful job covering this region that I was afraid I would not find much new material.I could not have been more wrong.This book offers detailed descriptions and trail maps of 108 hikes in and around Orange County, including many along the coast.Palos Verdes, Crystal Cove, and Chino Hills State Park receive much of the coverage of course, but readers will also find routes in out of the way places like little Oak Canyon and the El Dorado Nature Center in Long Beach.Readers will also find many hikes within the boundaries of the Cleveland National Forest.

Most of the hikes in this book are between 1-3 miles in length.A few exceed 7 miles and a couple have options that would give hikers a 10 mile trek.For the most part however, all the hikes in this guide are accessable to most reasonably fit walkers.I've enjoyed all 30 of the hikes I've done in this guide and look forward to doing several more when I get a spring break in April.This book is a winner for all Southern California Walkers. ... Read more