West Books - Page 3

Zagat San Francisco Bay Area Restaurants 2009 (Zagatsurvey: San Francisco/ Bay Area Restaurants)

Amazon Price: $10.17 List Price: $14.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Zagat Survey Amazon Marketplace: 35 new & used starting at $5.00

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Business & Investing -> Industries & Professions -> Hospitality, Travel & Tourism
Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> Professional Cooking -> Professional
Subjects -> Travel -> Reference & Tips -> Food & Lodging -> Dining

Editorial Review:

The surveyors are 54% women and 46% men. 52% are in their 20s and 30s and 48% are 40 and over. No matter the economic climate, San Francisco's appetite for lively dining destinations continues unabated, inspiring ever bolder ventures. For every notable closing, there's another restaurateur waiting in the wings, often joined by an expensive team of architects and designers, and ZAGAT is always there to note the changes.

The Packing Book: Secrets of the Carry-On Traveler

Judith Gilford

List Price: $7.95 By: Ten Speed Press Amazon Marketplace: 53 new & used starting at $0.01

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Business & Investing -> Small Business & Entrepreneurship -> Entrepreneurship
Subjects -> Home & Garden -> How-to & Home Improvements -> Household Hints
Subjects -> Science -> Earth Sciences -> Geography -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 13 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

How to Carry On 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

First, decide you're ready to travel hassle-free (or as close to it as possible). Next, visualize your perfect carry-on travel wardrobe. Author and packing expert Judith Gilford makes it all a breeze in this readable, oddly interesting handbook. She includes specific lists to jumpstart your thinking about packing for business, vacation and special itineraries - adventure, business or cruise travel, for instance. She offers great tips, from how to pack a layered bundle to keep your clothes wrinkle-free to the best practices for stain removal. getAbstract recommends her guidelines if you want to be able to travel light and still have everything you need upon arrival.

The Encyclopedia of Packing! 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 17 people found this review helpful.

All my life I have yearned for some unknown knowledge. Feeling incomplete, I began at an early age to selfishly take in as much information as possible. I read everything I could get my hands on, encyclopedias, dictionaries, textbooks, but nothing could quench this thirst. That is until I found this book. I still remember the day fate brought it to me. Opening its crisp pages I began to take in its glorious advice. Immediately captivated, I read the book uninterrupted from cover to cover, twice. Hours later, as I reluctantly closed the book, I breathed a sigh of relief. My soul at rest, I put down "The Packing Book: Secrets of the Carry-on Traveler".

Editorial Review:

On Good Morning America, The Today Show, and throughout the media, Judy Gilford is recognized as an expert on how to travel light without feeling deprived. Now, her classic on efficient carry-on travel returns, brimming with new luggage and other products, updated resource information, tips on packing larger bags, and more.

House of Rain: Tracking a Vanished Civilization Across the American Southwest

Craig Childs

Amazon Price: $16.49 List Price: $24.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Little, Brown and Company Amazon Marketplace: 60 new & used starting at $5.09

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> History -> Americas -> Native American -> General
Subjects -> History -> Americas -> Native American -> General AAS
Subjects -> History -> Americas -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 31 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

The greatest "unsolved mystery" of the American Southwest relates to the Anasazi, the native peoples who in the 11th century converged on Chaco Canyon (now New Mexico) and built a flourishing cultural center that attracted pilgrims from far and wide, a vital crossroads of the prehistoric world. The Anasazis' accomplishments--in agriculture, in art, in commerce, in architecture and engineering--were astounding, rivaling those of the Mayans in distant Central America. By the 13th century, however, the Anasazi were gone from Chaco. Vanished. What was it--drought? pestilence? war? forced migration? mass murder or suicide? Craig Childs draws on scholarly research and a lifetime of adventure and exploration in the American Southwest, to pursue the mystery of their disappearance. Considering many possibilities--drought, suicide--he points the way to a new understanding of how a vibrant civilization collapsed.HOUSE OF RAIN is a landmark work in the literature of ancient Native American culture, a key to a fascinating and mysterious lost civilization.

The Unofficial Guide to Las Vegas 2009 (Unofficial Guides)

Bob Sehlinger, Menasha Ridge Press, Deke Castleman, Muriel Stevens

Amazon Price: $13.59 List Price: $19.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Wiley Amazon Marketplace: 54 new & used starting at $10.65

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Entertainment -> General AAS
Subjects -> Travel -> Reference & Tips -> Food & Lodging -> Dining
Subjects -> Travel -> Reference & Tips -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

More than 4 million copies sold! This series is the only one that offers evaluations based on reader surveys and critiques, compiled by a team of unbiased inspectors.

• Hotels, attractions, and restaurants in all price categories

• Extensive information on shopping, nightlife, and sports

• Easy-to-use, two-color design

• Detailed, 2-color maps

From the publishers of The Unofficial Guide® to Walt Disney World®

"A Tourist's Best Friend!"
-Chicago Sun-Times

"Indispensable"
-The New York Times

Five Great Features and Benefits offered ONLY by The Unofficial Guide®:

* Over 100 hotels and casinos rated and ranked - the most offered by any guidebook - plus proven strategies for getting the best rate
* Complete detailed descriptions of each casino and casino hotel
* In-depth critical reviews of Las Vegas' 60 best shows and 30 top nightspots - the most offered by any guidebook
* Detailed reviews of more than 100 restaurants - a complete dining guide within the guide, plus the best buffets rated and ranked
* Fifty pages of gambling tips from how to play, recognize sucker games, and cut the house advantage to the bone

More Readings From One Man's Wilderness: The Journals of Richard L. Proenneke, 1974-1980

Richard L. Proenneke

Amazon Price: $32.00 List Price: $32.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: National Park Service Amazon Marketplace: 22 new & used starting at $32.00

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Memoirs
Subjects -> Travel -> Specialty Travel -> Adventure -> General
Subjects -> Travel -> Specialty Travel -> Adventure -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Richard Proenneke's Journals 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Richard Proenneke's journals from 1974 - 1980 detail everyday life at Twin Lakes Alaska. From the daily adventures of hiking and filming wildlife to the more mundane chores of chopping firewood, and making sourdough pancakes, Dick reveals his everyday life in the wilderness. Dick's prose is surprisingly easy to read for a daily journal, and entertaining. He easily transports the reader to the wilderness, and all its beauty, danger, and tranquility. A more sanguine aspect as the journal unfolds is the eventual encroachment by Man, stayed somewhat by the National Park status of the region. Dick's writings are unassuming, and yet very powerful in their simplicity, and the pictures they paint. A rare man, that I wish I could have met. I highly recommend this book for those that love the outdoors, and seek a captivating story of rugged, yet humble individualism.

Editorial Review:

The journals of Richard "Dick" Proenneke are now available in an edited and annotated volume covering the years 1974 through 1980.  The nation first became aware of the remarkable life of Dick Proenneke with the publication of One Man's Wilderness in 1973. 

Master of woodcraft and camp craft, keen observer of the natural world, mechanical genius, tireless hiker and journalisx, for 30 years Proennek lived a storied existense in a small log cabin her built in the Alaska wilderness.  Proenneke was an active yet reluctant participant in the epic struggle to protect some of Alaska's wild lands for future generations of Americans.

Disneyland's Hidden Mickeys: A Field Guide to the Disneyland Resort's Best-Kept Secrets (Disneyland's Hidden Mickey's)

Steven M. Barrett

Amazon Price: $9.95 List Price: $9.95 Usually ships in 6 to 11 days By: The Intrepid Traveler Amazon Marketplace: 13 new & used starting at $5.00

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Travel -> Reference & Tips -> Essays & Travelogues
Subjects -> Travel -> United States -> Regions -> West -> Pacific
Subjects -> Travel -> United States -> States -> California -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Fun to have 5 out of 5 stars.
7 of 7 people found this review helpful.

My family have passes to Disneyland and we're there often enough. I have heard about the Hidden Mickeys and have found some on my own. When they had the 50 Mickeys for their anniversary my young sons had a ton of fun looking for and finding them. It's a lot of fun for those of you with young children who love scavenger hunts! It's a way to pass the time while waiting for rides or walking around.
I highly recommend the web site that goes with the book as there are many more that are not listed in the book. But it's a great "beginner" book to the whole Hidden Mickey thing and is great if you're only there for the day.
It's definitely worth picking up!

Editorial Review:

Camouflaged images of Mickey Mouse are hidden around the Disney theme parks and resorts worldwide-just waiting to delight the visitors who spot them. Searching for them adds extra fun to any visit and has become something of a mission for many Disney fans. At their request, Barrett, whose Hidden Mickeys field guide has been helping Disney World visitors hunt these elusive characters since 2003, now offers equal sleuthing aid to Disneyland visitors.

San Francisco Then & Now (Then & Now)

Bill Yenne

Amazon Price: $17.62 List Price: $18.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Thunder Bay Press Amazon Marketplace: 47 new & used starting at $4.20

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Photography -> Photo Essays
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Photography -> Travel -> United States -> General
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Photography -> Travel -> United States -> West

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 14 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Welcome to America's Most Conservative City! 5 out of 5 stars.
6 of 11 people found this review helpful.

I'm not using "conservative" in the current political sense, obviously. Everybody knows that John McCain has less than a snowball's chance in Gomorrah of winning in SF. I using the term conservative in its root meaning, something like "saving what was valued in the past." Preservation and conservation have the same Latin root. San Francisco has conserved more of its past than any western American city, and I could make a case, I think, for its preservation of more old-fashioned city life even than Boston or Savannah.

Except for the tiny downtown financial district, San Francisco "looks" old. The vast majority of houses, churches, and schools were built in late Victorian styles and have been lovingly restored in the same styles. Even the relatively "new" streets of the Sunset are old-fashioned now, predominantly in modest Art Deco style of the 30s and 40s. And it should be no surprise that ATT baseball park is a booking success, since it's strikingly old-style brick in construction, with a street car stop at the front gate.

San Francisco is a bastion of old-fashioned independent mom 'n pop businesses. There are thriving corner groceries and open-air once-a-week markets: independent restaurants ranging from very cheap to ultra expensive, but hardly any chain restaurants in the neighborhoods. The big chain grocery stores like Albertson's struggle to stay open in competition with locally owned stores like Andronico's, which has six stores around the whole Bay Area. There are more independent fitness centers and gyms in the neighborhoods; 24-hour fat farms are not the norm in SF. There are no malls that would be recognizable to most Americans in downtown or neighborhood San Francisco. The only malls - and very small they are by US norms - are on the suburban fringes.

Even Boston is cut up by freeways today, though the traffic is no better managed than when I lived there in the early '60s. Seattle is sliced in half by its ineeffective central freeway. San Francisco is the place that blocked freeway construction in the late '60s. Several freeways have been demolished in SF in the last ten years! Streets in SF are narrow and parking is tough, but a measure to build more parking lots was recently defeated at the polls, and any attempt to chop wider streets through SF would meet with armed resistance.

Baseball is the number one sport in SF. The fans of the football team pour in from the 'burbs to the hideous modernistic but crumbling stadium just at the edge of the city. The basketball team plays in Oakland. Any town where baseball rules has got to be considered conservative!

People in SF are conservative dressers, especially by California standards. I know women who live in LA, who carry clothes they consider drab to SF when they visit, so that they will not stick out like the inflamed rear view of a peacock's tail. One never sees "his and hers" outfits on the streets, especially not pastels. Men wear less bling per capita in SF than in Omaha. A neck chain and an open shirt would get you sneered out of polite society in SF.

Sweet old-fashioned window boxes are everywhere in SF. Street tree plantings are lovingly maintained. Open space is all-important to San Franciscans, and it's by stubborn resistance to development than SF has preserved more open space (finangling the take-over of decommissioned army, coast guard, and navy bases) than any comparably populated region of the USA. Nature is inherently conservative.

The half-mile strip of upper Haight Street, which gets the attention of the "screaming heads" on TV and radio, is not populated by San Franciscans. It's the runaway and stumble-away refuge of the discontented - the "poor abused confused missused" - of all the dysfunctional "conservative" families and communities from Modesto to Miami. They come to SF to enjoy the true conservative values of privacy, tolerance, and neighborhood friendliness.

Editorial Review:

The natives call it simply "the City." This is the story of the changing face of San Francisco, and how it has become one of the most picturesque cities in the world. Seventy modern color photographs are compared side-by-side with seventy archival photographs from the 1850s to the 1950s. While focusing on famous vistas and familiar landmarks, it also explores well-known neighborhoods. The Then and Now series includes: New York, Washington, Boston, and San Francisco.

Las Vegas Then and Now (Then & Now)

Su Kim Chung

Amazon Price: $18.95 List Price: $18.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Thunder Bay Press Amazon Marketplace: 47 new & used starting at $2.55

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Photography -> Architectural
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Photography -> Photo Essays
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Photography -> Travel -> United States -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Excellent Book! 5 out of 5 stars.
18 of 19 people found this review helpful.

I was finally able to visit Las Vegas last year and bought several Vegas books as souvenirs. Unfortunately, most of the books only provided information on present-day Las Vegas. Also wanted were pictures of the Las Vegas I had seen on TV as a kid. After all, that is what gave it its magic & attraction to me.

This book provides that. Pictures of the old & new are featured on opposite pages for easy comparison. The pictures are large, sharp, & clear, & are of excellent quality to this layman's eye. They are also accompanied by short paragraphs of essential facts such as build dates & owners, along with information peculiar to the specific buildings.

I highly recommend this book to the nostalgist.

Another excellent entry in the Then and Now series 5 out of 5 stars.
7 of 7 people found this review helpful.

I drove through Las Vegas in 1975 and was so unimpressed I didn't even stop and get out of the car. I wanted to see if this book had any photos from that era and was pleased to find out my memory wasn't faulty. I was also there in the mid '60s and the late '90s and the book didn't let me down on those memories, either.

Editorial Review:

A photographic journey through the history of one of America's most distinctive towns, Las Vegas. Part of the highly successful "Then and Now" series, each spread shows an image of Las Vegas as it was, and how it is currently.

The Laws Field Guide to the Sierra Nevada (California Academy of Sciences) (California Academy of Sciences) (California Academy of Sciences)

Amazon Price: $16.47 List Price: $24.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Heyday Books Amazon Marketplace: 34 new & used starting at $6.39

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> History -> Americas -> United States -> State & Local -> Nevada
Subjects -> Outdoors & Nature -> Reference
Subjects -> Science -> Biological Sciences -> Animals -> Wildlife

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 22 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Great Sierra field guide 5 out of 5 stars.
8 of 8 people found this review helpful.

I have at least 10 books specifically on Sierra wildflowers and several field guides. This is the best all-in-one book. It's not too heavy for me to carry on a day hike.

Janice
in the Sierra

A perfect book for exploring 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

The detail drawing make it easy to identify the plants and wild life.
A great way to learn.

Fun family resource 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

We purchased this field guide to take on dayhikes and camping trips in the Sierra's with our 5 yr old daughter. We have thoroughly enjoyed it! It is very easy to use. I looked at many field guides and this one is by far the easiest to use. Small children can become bored easily on a hike. The field guide has made hiking more interesting for our 5 yr old. She finds it great fun to identify new flowers,plants,birds,ect. It delays the inevitable, "Are we there yet?" !

Editorial Review:

With more than 2,800 original watercolor illustrations, John Muir Laws has masterfully catalogued over 1,700 species of Sierra trees, wildflowers, ferns, fungi, lichens, fish, reptiles, amphibians, birds, mammals, insects, and other small animals. The guide is designed for quick and easy use in the field. Color tabs and a unique system of keys and organization assist in the quick identification of the living things encountered along the trail, while Laws s illustrations capture the feeling of plants and animals with detail critical for their classification.

Obssessed With... Hollywood: Test Your Knowledge of the Silver Screen (Obsessed With) (Obsessed With...)

Andrew J. Rausch

Amazon Price: $24.95 List Price: $24.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Chronicle Books Amazon Marketplace: 47 new & used starting at $4.23

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Computers & Internet -> Games & Strategy Guides -> Video Games
Subjects -> Entertainment -> Movies -> History & Criticism
Subjects -> Entertainment -> Movies -> Reference

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Obsessed with Hollywood - Great Movie Trivia Product!!! 4 out of 5 stars.
9 of 9 people found this review helpful.

Obssessed With... Hollywood: Test Your Knowledge of the Silver Screen (Obsessed With) (Obsessed With...)

I'm so glad I finally got this movie trivia book! I passed over this book a few times over the holidays, but now that I've finally gotten myself a copy and taken time to read it / play with it, I'm wishing I would have gotten this earlier. I definitely could have seen giving this as a gift to my fellow movie junkies. And I would have certainly enjoyed playing this myself some more if I would have gotten it earlier.

This book is packed with very good film trivia questions, though not too difficult. Over my first couple of hours of playing I was at about %50. Definitely easy enough to keep my interest and challenging enough to joggle my memory.

The lower right corner houses an electronic answer box that randomly gives you question numbers to flip to. You also use this box to answer questions, and it gives you instant feedback and tracks your accuracy.

The book itself, while solid, could have been put together better. The bookstore had a few copies where the electronic answer box had broken free from the book. In addition, after playing for a while I've come to think the binding is too tight. A spiral binding would have made flipping through the questions easier.

Regardless, the content is very good and this thing is surprisingly addictive. If you love movie trivia and want something fun to kill a few hours, this will do it.

They've also got a similar book about Baseball which I also bought. Obsessed with...Baseball: Test Your Knowledge of America's Pastime (Obsessed With...) I would definitely look into this series for other topics. This may not be as cool for home use as some of the newer multimedia trivia games, like the various "Scene It" games Scene It? Movie Travel DVD Game. Still, this book is very portable and well designed with great content. At the price of around $16-$17, it's not a bad value.

Definitely give this one a try.

Enjoy!!!

Editorial Review:

With a whopping 2,500 multiple-choice questions spanning the world of film, Obsessed with HOLLYWOOD is the movie-lover's ultimate trivia experience. This sleek, compact book tests readers' knowledge on everything from unforgettable lines to obscure factoids. Chapters include Classic Films, Celebrity Icons, Academy Awards, and more; there's even a section on Guilty Pleasures those movies so bad, they're terrific. But, Obsessed with HOLLYWOOD is no average trivia book. Embedded in the package is a computerized quiz module that lets cinephiles compete against themselves or a friend. The book keeps track of how many answers each player gets right and reveals who is overdue for a trip to the video store.