Westerns Books

This lavishly illustrated book, with an included map of the inside passage, is sold on cruise ships to supplement the sights the passengers are encountering along the way. It adds much detail about the history and culture of the splendid land from Seattle and Vancouver northward, particularly for the myriad coastal towns and harbors where cruise ships call or sail nearby. If you are looking for a dry listing of hotels, restaurants, and trinket shops, this is not the book for you. If you want to expand the sensory impact of your trip to Alaska, your money will be well spent on this companion guide.

This is an excellent resource guide for anyone planning to travel to Alaska. I am a travel professional planning trips for clients and this book is a fascinating read and gives me some unusual insights to share with my clients:)

It is easy to read - lots of photos and interesting facts about Alaska!

Gabriele:)

Wow what a book! Loved it so bought 2 copies for friends. To take the included map and read the book as you go "mile by mile" up the coast is fantastic! Since we are cruising next year, we purchased the book to see the pictures and read the info! No better compliment than to purchase other copies for other cruisers!

I bought this book because I was looking for information on the best things to do in each port, including kinds of excursions. The pictures were beautiful and there was a lot of great information on the history, but details on the excursions was very limited.

I purchased copies of this handbook for both my husband and me as well as his brother and wife for our first time Alaskan cruise. It was interesting to follow our route on the included map and know what we were cruising by, as well as to anticipate what lie ahead. We were able to take wonderful photographs of lighthouses, etc. by knowing when to watch for them. We saw several people onboard with the books, and I would highly recommend it as a "must pack" item on an Alaskan cruise.

Watkin knows his stuff. But I don't so I bought this book which didn't clear things up as much as I hoped. There are far too many details, not a sense of narrative through history. Then there are far too few photos of things he expose's so that I have to guess what he means. And no maps. My geographic knowledge is not that good. I think it could be improved by streamlining, photos near the text which refers to them, and a map at the start of each section. But his prose is beautiful sometimes.

First time I read D. Watkin's book almost 10 years ago. Basically, it is a comprehensive and detailed throughout. However, I was struck by one 'little' improper detail - instead of the picture of Haja Sophia (St. Sophia Cathedral) in Kiev built in 11 cent. I found a picture of a Neo-Byzantine style church which dates to the beginning of the 20 cent. I'm just curious is it that difficult for a recognized art historian to tell the difference? Or it's just a matter of 'neglegence'? In 1996 I wrote a letter to the Publishing house and recieved a nice answer saying that in the case of the third print they would definitely check and replace the picture with the proper one. No changes so far.

This is the fourth edition of this monumental book. This edition has been expanded to include additional coverage of Egyptian and Mesopotamian architecture at the early end, and the coverage of the architecture of the twentieth century has been greatly expanded. There is also expanded coverage of the architecture from Asia, particular that of Japan.

The book now has 50 color and 931 black and white photographs. Most of these are from Europe, but the rest of the world does have some coverage.

The increased size and scope of the book now presents a continuous coverage of the evolution of architecture from the earliest building, about 5000 B.C. to buildings constructed in the twenty first century. It is the most complete single volume history of architecture available and it's new edition is greatly improved.

The author, David Watkin is Professor of the History of Architecture at the University of Cambridge.

Dr. Watkin and his publishers would have done better to have deleted virtually all of the text from this tome, leaving more room for the most successful part of the book, its photographs. While the bleeding of the images helps make the format seem more up-to-date, this book remains hopelessly out-of-date, the inclusion of Frank O. Ghery's Bilbao Museum and I. M. Pei's glowing pyramid on the cover notwithstanding. The gaps in this book are egregious as are the waxing and waning from over- to under-statement. While the color images are lovely, many of the black & white images of pre-20th century works seem as if they were taken from a photocopy.

Dr. Watkins' propensity to treat "the New World" as a lost appendage of the British Empire colors the latter chapters in particular. The influence, for example, of "The Chicago School" barely registers within his stylometric system. As is often the case with survey books, in the end it seems quite a lot about all too little.

Suprisingly the book begins with Ancient Rome, leaving the Caves, Stonehenge, and Egypt out, but as a result has more time to explore Western Architecture in greater depth for a Survey Book. The photographs are excellent, with many in color.

I read this book many years ago and enjoyed it immensely. Recently working in Texas, I decided to do a little background on the "real" Cullen Baker. Turns out Mr. L'Amours research is not as careful as he and others would have us believe. I understand the concept of poetic liscense but this isn't even close. The Cullen Baker of history bears absolutely no resemblance to the man immortalized in L'Amours novel. It would appear that L'Amour only bothered to reference a few popular stories and none of the solid historical records available on Baker. Cullen Baker was a vicious, opportunistic thug who bore no allegiance to anything or anyone but himself. The concept of fair play didn't seem a part of his makeup. There is no reliable historical evidence that Baker was ever a quickdraw artist. Looking for a good story? Read the "First Fast Draw". Looking for reliable history of the man-avoid L'Amours fantasy book.

Answers.com, Wikipedia,and Thomas Orr, Baker's sworn enemy, portray Cullen Baker as a Reconstruction period desperado, outlaw and thug who killed hundreds of people. And that well may have been true! But as we all know, history is written by the victors in any conflict.
Louis L'Mour's "The First Fast Draw" is a romanticized interpretation of Baker's life. Like the historically accurate books of the Revolutionary War period by Kenneth Roberts, L'Mour shows us Baker's life from his own perspective. Like all of L'Mour's books, the writing is superb, the characterization excellent and the story is compelling. L'Mour was known for his accuracy in describing the Western landscape, and for his careful research. Written in the first person, "The First Fast Draw" is an idealized portrait of a temperamental, physically gifted man who struggled with his inner demons and eventually conquered them.
After reading the First Fast Draw, you may experience, as I did, a longing for times past and the realization that the risk-averse, corrupt and hypocritical society that has evolved from Baker's time in 1869 is a far cry from the "land of the free and the home of the brave."

Actually, years ago, this was the first L'Amour I read. I have been hooked ever since. The post Civil War years are rather fastinating and L'Amour is able to capture, in fiction, the general feeling and plight of those who lived those times. As an added bonus, like all L'Amour books, the setting of this story is quite well handled. East Texas is still East Texas and the author's discription and feel for the country is wonderful. This is a very easy book to read and I certainly would recommend it to the younger reader interested in this particular genre. All in all, great fun!

The book "The First Fast Draw" takes place after the Civil War. The genre is a western setting, in the south west part of the United States. The reading has a lot of action and it is really easy going, and not hard to read or comprehend at all. It is a great high school reading book, because it is short, easy to read, and has a good genre. I would give this book five stars and a pat on the back for its excellence.

The plot of the book is when Collin Baker decides he needs to go back to east Texas, to regain and farm his fathers' land. The problem with him doing this is that when his family first moved to east Texas he became known as a troublemaker. He ended up beating up a bunch of boys that were older than he was, but he was doing it in self-defense, therefore he has many enemies in East Texas. Also the carpetbaggers and the Reconstructionists have other plans for his land. Collin Baker returns to his home, but the first night he is home he already runs into trouble. At first, Baker thinks he beat his enemies by himself but learns very fast that he needs friends and to learn to shoot very fast and quick. He quickly found Bob Lee, Bill Longley, and Matt Kirby, who were also having the same problems. Bob Lee is a character who is always ready to fight and looking for action. Bill Longley grew up with Collin, so they knew each other and were also one of Collins few friends. Matt Kirby is woods men that stayed in the swamps trapping. The four of them hide in the woods were nobody knows of. They train and Collin keeps on getting better and better with his gun. Finally its time for them to regain what is rightfully theirs. They kill of bunch of their enemies, but Collin gets caught in the process. He gets thrown in jail and is scheduled for a hanging the next day. While he is in jail he doesn't worry about his problems but worries about his friends trying to get him out and getting caught in the process. He friends come anyways and they all escape. They know now that they need to flee the area so they all head out west together and start over. I believe the main theme of the story is to know how good your friends are to you. Never let anything happen to your friend that you wouldn't want to happen to you. Know that your friends will be there for you when you need him the most. I really liked this book and the tone of it too. The author did a great job of giving great detail and describing everything. I would defiantly recommend this book to anyone who likes the woods and guns.

Fully Fertile is an amazing book because it challenged and encouraged me to look at my fertility journey differently. It guided me through easy to follow chapters on meditation, yoga, diet, prayer, etc. that give examples and exercises that can actually be done (for those of us who weren't necessarily comfortable with such things before). I was lucky to be part of the pilot program, and would highly recommend this book to all who are trying to have a baby. For an even better experience I would recommend reading this book with a group of women as a book club so that you can have discussions about the different chapters as you are going through. There are resources in the book to help you find practitioners for different services, and information if you are trying to start a group. Fully Fertile is a heartfelt book that is not only good for fertility preparedness, but also for life.

Finally there is a book that empowers and educates women in their own fertility. This book is easy to follow and understand, I learned a lot. The yoga poses and the information about acupuncture and meditation helped ground and encourage me. I'm sure a lot of women (and couples) will be helped by this material.

For anyone going through the fertility journey, I HIGHLY recommend this book! I have read several books and perused many articles on fertility but this book proved to be the most thorough and holistic. From nutrition to exercise to prayer, it covers every aspect that should be considered while trying to conceive. And even if you're not successful in getting pregnant, the information shared in the book will assist in leading a healthy lifestyle. Thank you, Beth and Tami, for using your gifts and sharing them with others. Namaste.

As part of the pilot program for this book I was so blessed with not only the information and insights that the authors so freely shared, but by the support I feel they gave me during this difficult journey. The enlightenment and encouragment helped me see beyond this desire and discover who I really am. Acupuncture, yoga, nutritional information, meditation and the words of this book allowed me to find balance and peace again. I'm eternally thankful for this book!

Although the book was not shipped that quickly, the book was in excellent condition. I am very satisfied with the book's condition. I just thought I would have received the book sooner.

A very good Jazz history. It's my second pick after James Lincoln Collier's exceptional "The Making of Jazz".

It was rather slow in arriving, but the price was good and the quality was fine (it was a new book).