5 comments about The Urban Treasure Hunter: A Practical Handbook for Beginners.

1. No matter what your treasure, be it coins, bottles, or somethisg else, this book has great tips on where and how to find it. I originally bought a copy for my son and was so impressed that I bought another copy for myself.



2. I am just beginning my hobby with a metal detector. I purchased several books on treasure hunting and this is by far the best. It has a broad range of extremely useful information. By all means start with this book if you too are a beginner. Most of the other books I bought had a lot of fluff. This book has a ton of useful information and guidance.



3. This book is an invaluable resource for the beginner and even the intermediate detectorist. It has filled me with new ideas of where and how to search for lost valuables and coins. The tidbits on history and archeology were most interesting.



4. This book has a lot of information about treasures all over the country. Tells you where to look, how to go about hunting and what equipment you need and what to do when you find your treasures.



5. I was looking for a book on using a metal detector. This was not it.

5 comments about The Art and Flair of Mary Blair.

1. Great product! As always, Amazon delivers a quality product at a great price in record time! Very pleased with item.



2. For anyone interested in the cartoon drawings of the familiar Disney era, (think Cinderella and Peter Pan)Mary Blair's art will delight. Her style was decidedly "folksy" in the early days and it's simplicity told the story with clarity. Disney commisioned Blair to create the characters in the exhibit "IT'S A SMALL WORLD" at Disneyland. With Mary Blair, Disney found a foil to show his unique view to the world...a truly American look.
   This book, THE ART AND FLAIR OF MARY BLAIR, is very well produced book by Disney editions, that shows the prolific Blair's drawings and art work, not only from the Disney era, but beyond.



3. The work of Mary Blair is well-known to animation and Disney aficianados, but there is a dearth of material available about her. Her influence on animation and Disney design was enormous. John Canemaker, as one has come to expect of his work, has written a terrific book on Blair. Well-illustrated, carefully noted.
   Although this book is very good, Mary Blair deserves a full-length biography.



4. When I visited Disneyland last year with my daughter I expected to fall in love all over again with various attractions at the park: Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, the Carousel. I honestly didn't expect to fall in love all over again with "It's a Small World" but I did.
   I had already heard the name, Mary Blair, but I didn't know anything about her so I decided to research her online and I found this book.
   What an incredible artist she was! John Cane tells her story and her contributions to everything Disney. She was an incredible artist! Her works now sell for many hundreds of dollars. It's too bad that she didn't live long enough to see herself become famous. Like most artists, she became famous after her death. At any rate, here is the story of the woman who created so much of the Disney magic. It's very well illistrated and an enjoyable read.



5. Beautiful and unique look into the life and developed portfolio of a retro animator. This book is nostalgic, child-like awe packaged. Wonderfully whimsical images.

5 comments about Route 66 Lost & Found: Ruins and Relics Revisited.

1. This book is great to take a look into the past and the hearty souls that created the famous route..To read it is to take a trip into the past..It is a great book I throughly enjoy it.



2. Great Photographs, yesterday and today. Gives you a good feeling of the old Route 66.



3. I was very disapointed with this book. I was hoping to get some information about route 66 as it is today, but it's all but gone now.
   
   What made it a bad book for me is they showed how it used to be then should it as it is today. I just wanted to cry. It would have been all right if they just showed the old or the new, but the before and after just about killed me emotionally.



4. this is a great book in my opinion i love it very informative nice pictures and comparisons from old-new of most photos of places .. i have been on bits of 66 over the years i may never drive the majority of it but reading this book made me feel like i did wonderful is all i can say



5. Both volume one and two are very interesting and well researched books.
   I traveled Route 66 a couple of years ago and reading the book was fascinating- now I know how many locations I went sailing past without a clue!
   When I next get a chance to do a repeat journey, I shall certainly re-read the books very thoroughly and travel slower so as not to miss such historic scenes.

4 comments about Backroads of New England: Your Guide To New England's Most Scenic Backroad Adventures (Pictorial Discovery Guide).

1. This was obviously a carefully researched, well-written book, with great photos. But I was disappointed that there was so little focus on maps. Rather than showing a detailed maps of a recommended route, the author chose to write a verbal description of a recommended route. That's sufficient if you wish to follow the author's route exactly. But if you would rather create your own route with some guidance from the book, it's virtually impossible.



2. My wife and I just came back from vacation in New England. Aside from the Delorme maps, this book was the most important item we took with us. We went on several of the scenic drives described in the book, and they were all absolutely beautiful! The directions were perfect, even if they don't tell you the distances involved. The photographs in the book are worth the price alone, but it's even better when you come across the places pictured in the book and find out they're just as gorgeous as the author said they would be. If you're going to New England, you need this book.



3. Kim Knox Beckius, a well-known New England travel writer, has teamed up with New Hampshire photographer, William Johnson, to create a pictorial guide to 30 scenic drives throughout the region.
   
   You get five scenic drives each from Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, and New Hampshire. Rhode Island offers up another four, and Maine weighs in with a larger six. The drives cover the best of New England, from mountains to the ocean, and from the lakes to the beaches. And a whole bunch more.
   
   Kim doesn't spend a lot of time on directions. They tend to be brief and on the side of the pages - enough to get you around but not much more. Kim focuses her travel writing skills on making sure you experience in words the sights, sounds, and smells of each region. The beautifully produced photography greatly enhances this experience.
   
   While I love this book if you're looking for one crammed with detailed directions and a step-by-step tour of attractions this isn't it.
   
   This is a book to keep near you throughout the long winter... to browse whenever you want to remember a drive already taken... or one waiting for you in the spring.



4. When fall comes in New England, the trees turn into a splendid mass of reds, oranges and yellows that temporarily distract us from the coming winter. At the same time, the first fresh snowfalls have a special beauty that New Englanders love as well. But the first blush of spring causes a special joy to burst out from our hearts. In the lazy days of summer, we love to watch the wind blow the grasses and trees from languid poses.
   
   At any one of those times, I find myself thinking how much fun it would be to see some new sights in the context of those favorite New England conditions. In the forty years I've lived in New England, I've found many of my favorite locations purely by accident. The back roads are always the best. But I don't have the time to randomly drive all the back roads to find the best ones.
   
   That's where Backroads of New England comes in. Kim Knox Beckius has found 30 delightful drives over back road that mix scenery, history, culture and just plain fun. I have taken about half of the drives in the book, so I can swear by those. I am looking forward to doing the rest now that I know where to go.
   
   How can I tell I would like the others? First, Ms. Beckius provides helpful essays about where to begin, what to see, and what to stop and do along the way. She even includes some suggestions for hiking to beautiful waterfalls. Second, William H. Johnson's gorgeous photographs colorfully illuminate the main sights for each drive. Whether you love covered bridges, snow-capped peaks, delightful streams, pounding surf, or mysterious vistas, you can page through the book to find the places that speak mostly fervently to your soul.
   
   The book is also organized by state. So if you are planning to go just to Maine and arrive by air in Portland, you can simply focus on the Maine trips and those in New Hampshire and northeast Massachusetts that are not too far away. If you live in New York, and want to drive for no more than two hours, you can focus on that radius in western Connecticut and Massachusetts.
   
   I have been looking at travel guides for New England for many years. I've never seen a finer one for back roads adventures.
   
   Give it a try!

5 comments about Ghost Towns of Colorado (Pictorial Discovery Guide).

1. Definitely the best ghost towns book in CO. I have read few and this one is only one I had purchased some time ago. So far I did not seen any better. My husband and I traveled to every location listed in this book, I have taken the same pics you see in this book and all is the way this books describes and more! A must for history lovers and/or offroaders.



2. Provides some interesting information about the ghost towns. This book has more meat than many of the others I looked at. It really gives good background information about the ghost towns.



3. This is one of the best Colorado ghost town books I have seen, probably the best one. It does a good job of dividing Colorado up into specific areas that have many ghost towns to see. Then it divides those areas into principle sites and lesser sites. It gives you great driving directions and history of the towns. Overall, It is brilliantly put together.
   I wasn't even going to write this review if it weren't for some of the reviews below mine. They got it all wrong. There are many great ghost towns left in Colorado. The reviewer that says they are just towns with an empty building or two, obvoiusly didn't look very hard or travel very far from his home in greater Denver. He probably didn't even get out of his Chevy Cavalier to explore. Maybe ghost towns are not for city slickers who don't understand. Some of the best ghost towns in the book are not all that easy to get to. I guarantee you that he did not venture anywhere near Animas Forks, Crystal, Marble, Buckskin Joe, Gothic or many other picturesque Colorado ghost towns worthy of post cards or old westerns. Yes, there are a few towns in the book that still have inhabitants in or near them. But they are most likely listed due to their great history and amazing buildings that still stand (Leadville).
   I guarantee you that if you buy this book you will not be displeased. This book has the most wonderful pictures of ghost towns and Colorado history. I will also tell you from experience that you will not find a better Colorado ghost town book out there. This Author knows what he is doing, he has also written the best Arizona ghost town book available.



4. I found this book very interesting and informative as a Colorado resident and avid ghost towns explorer. The pictures are beautiful, and the maps and directions are helpful. I keep this book whenever I drive out of town.



5. For people thinking they might seek out these "ghost towns" be warned. The definition of "ghost town" for the purpose of this book seems to be a town that was once larger than it currently is that has an abandoned building or two somewhere near it. The examples from the book that I've gone to see are pretty much ghost-free small mountain towns filled with more than a few current non-ghost residents. The book makes things appear desolate, and exotic but, for what I've experience so far, it's painting a pretty romantic picture of nothing too exotic.

5 comments about Eric Sloane's An Age of Barns: An Illustrated Review of Classic Barn Styles and Construction.

1. Other reviewers have done a good job of describing this and I agree with them. I'll just add that this wonderfully illustrated book really brought the memories flooding back.



2. Eric Sloane is known to many of us who love traditional country things as the superb and prolific American artist and author who gave us books with good words and even better drawings. Sloane was an accidental historian of that era of American life when agriculture was king. I cherish my copies of his A Museum of Early American Tools and A Reverence For Wood.
   
   The Age of Barns was first published in 1967. I saw this 2001 version lying on a table in a friend's house and begged to borrow it. The sub-title is An Illustrated Review of Classic Barn Styles and Construction. It is more than that as it also shows silos, root cellars, springhouses, sugarhouses, corn cribs and smoke houses. Also shown are tools of barn builders, construction methods, types of ventilation systems and even hinge design.
   
   Sloane shows the evolution of this most important structure with examples large and small and from many places. Medieval, English, German, American barns. Small and large log barns. The Appalachian overhung-loft barn built on two cribs, decorated Pennsylvania barns, a Georgia barn, a Maine barn, a Tennessee saltbox barn. Pent roofs, gambrel roofs, extended bays, threshing bays. Connecting barns, built so the farmer could do a winter day's chores without going outside.
   
   I have known two barns intimately. The barn on our Wisconsin farm was a classic two-story bank barn built of stone on the lower level with hand-hewn posts and beams above, a cupola topping it off. The farmer whose death allowed my parents to buy the farm had been an alfalfa producer so the barn had huge mows that were filled both from the outside using a hay hook and from the inside where teams and wagons were taken straight in and through. The dairy herd was housed in the lower section next to the sixteen-foot silo. I pulled a lot of, um, teats in that barn.
   
   The humble hillbilly barn at Heartwood in Missouri has two sections separated by a drive-through. In barns this design is called double-crib; in houses it is called a dog-trot. The construction is of hewn oak logs with half-dovetail corners. The logs are held off the ground only with loose stones, so early deterioration was inevitable. When the barn was still in pretty good shape we took a family photo one Fourth of July. My cousin and I hung the huge American flag that was hand-sewn by a grandmother for Lincoln's inauguration and we all posed in front of it on the ground.
   
   Born in 1905, Eric Sloane died in 1985, walking to a luncheon in his honor celebrating his memoir, Eighty: An American Souvenir. His fine books will live on long after him, a legacy of focus and craftsmanship.



3. Sloane's books capture the romanticism of the past better than any picture books, and that is certainly true for his An Age of Barns. The beautiful line drawings range from evocative perspectives to working sections, giving you a good idea of how these barns worked. There are Shaker round barns, traditional gambrel barns, Amish barn raisings and a wide variety of outbuildings associated with the early American farmstead. He lovingly focuses on hinge details, stairs and ventilation openings. Sloane's eye never missed a detail, and for anyone who loves old barns this is the book to get.



4. This has some interesting history of early barns, especially those of New England. Drawings are well done, as usual. If you are interested in barns west of the Mississippi look elsewhere.



5. and I understand that barn so much better now that I have read this book. Sloane gives a brief overview of the history of barns, regional types of barns, and even the tools to raise a barn. A lovely book.

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

1. 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!



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



3. 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!



4. 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.



5. Lots o' great info on both the Ride @ the Disney Theme Parks + the Movie [which I loath - sorry but the Haunted Mansion wasn't meant to be made into a 2 hour episode of the Fresh Prince of Bellaire, mmmkay ?] + the Haunted Mansion Holiday ....
   
   Future editions should drop all reference to the Movie, then spend more time on the Haunted Mansion Holiday [Nightmare Before Christmas Holiday makeover] + recent "changes" that occured in 2006 [I'd make it a 5 star if they did that] ....
   
   If you don't want to read the book, please buy it for the artwork
   [best priced Disney Merchandise vs. what you will pay @ the Theme Parks] ....
   
   ~(^)~

5 comments about Americana the Beautiful: Mid-century Culture in Kodachrome.

1. There is nothing like great images and insight to bring back a long ago era. This book does a great job at setting the stage! Buy it and enjoy!



2. l have always been fascinated by the 1950s, it was like no other era in history,The American dream, good old fashion values, and families.It was portrayed as an era of blissful harmony and peacful existence for all. When l came across this book by charles phoenix, l was delighted, you cannot be amazed by this book of ordinary people, capturing their lives, on film in excellent quality. The fact that these pictures still remain, in wonderful quality taken by amateur photographers is truefully historical. If you never lived through the 1950s, and l didnt, because lm 35 years old, and your only glimpse of this era is in the movies, then this book is a real gem. His other book, californialand, is equally great book, which he showes more of these great photos of ordinary people living in the 50s. Great historical books.



3. Americana the Beautiful is a trip down memory lane; especially for us Baby Boomers.
   
   These old shapshots are great! What a wonderful trip we took every summer when we visited my mother's family in South Carolina. Remember those luggage racks on station wagons? I remember being on the New Jersey Turnpike one time and luggage thtat was tied to the roof blew off. Dad had to pull our station wagon to the side of the road and pick up a suitcase full of diapers for my younest brother!
   
   I have fond memories of the Dairy Queen and the Good Humor mah. The smell was sweet mixed with raw exhaust fumes! What great times those were!



4. Another selection of snaps rescued by Charles Phoenix just before they might have ended up in the local landfill. In the same format as his excellent 'Southern Californialand' (ISBN 1883318424) and so much better than the earlier 'God Bless Americana' book. The two hundred amateur slides feature a rich seam of everyday life full of white middle class detail (which of course does raise the question: didn't colored folk take photos back then or perhaps they never junk them).
   
   Overall I thought the photo selection was fascinating and grouping them in themes worked well. The last few pages have some intriguing architectural and transport slides like the 1964 flying saucer style State Capitol Bank in Oklahoma City or the late fifties General Motors Aerotrain pulling into a station. On page thirty-six onward there are several pages of people at home showing all kinds of domestic activity, food on tables, kitchens, watching home movies or just enjoying company. It's interesting looking at these photos because they are so unlike anything taken by professionals though sometimes the composition, lighting and color does lift them out of the mundane.
   
   Like 'Southern Californialand' the editorial format works well with photos one to a page, allowing for a deep caption or several slides butted together. My only criticism is that sometimes out of focus images are too large, for example the soft-focus Jefferson Drive-in on page ninety-seven would have worked better much smaller or even rejected. Also captions frequently describe in words what the reader can obviously see in the picture but fortunately many of them also have plenty of historical background detail about things in the photos.
   
   Charles Phoenix has hit on a successful publishing genre and there surely will be more titles to come but until the next one you can follow the latest finds on his website.
   
   ***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.



5. Charles Phoenix has done it again! We've loved each of his books, and the last few we've bought almost as soon as he released them. This one has even more of Charles' trademark old, but crisp, bright and clear, color Kodakchrome slides, all taken by amateur photographers like you and me (or our parents and grandparents!), from all across America, and all with brief, nondistracting, colorful, very witty and informative commentary. It's a perfect gift for a "Fourth of July" Party. You'll laugh as well as be a little saddened by this colorful, visual reminder of our treasured, more innocent and playful past. Cheers and thanks once again to Charles Phoenix. And if you get a chance, check out his website and go see one of his hilarious live shows or tours.

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

1. 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!



2. 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.



3. 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.



4. 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



5. One of my favorite things to do is to travel down sections of the California coast. I do this whenever I can, and usually have an opportunity to revisit a favorite site at least once a year. One of the high points of being a teenager in California was taking a driving trip with my mother and sister where we covered almost the entire coast.

   I was very impressed by this book. If you think you are interested in taking a trip to the California coast, I think this book is essential!

   First, I couldn't find any sight that I have enjoyed visiting that was not included. For example, I have spent a lot of time near Laguna in Southern California in recent years. I found every activity that I enjoy doing in Laguna captured in the book, down the art galleries and museum I like to visit there.

   Second, most books of photography cause you to have great envy for the skill of the photographer, with no idea how to take your own images. I was delighted when the book opened with a brief photographic note that explained what equipment was used for the photographs. It's all equipment that I can access and manage, which is also nice. The images of sunsets over the ocean are the best!

   Third, the book brings in the environmental issues of defending the coastline from California's enormous population and heavy tourism industry. You will read about how development and wildlife are both being protected and brought together in complementary ways. Ms. Misuraca's text makes no bones about the smog and congestion near Los Angeles, and the photographs make those problems visually appalling.

   Fourth, the writing is way above what I've come to expect for travel-related books. I thought that Jean-Michel Cousteau's Foreword was especially eloquent. "California is a fabled land . . . . From small, Hispanic-influenced farming towns to the cosmopolitan bustle of San Francisco and Los Angeles, it is host to a blend of cultures not seen since the days of ancient Rome."

   Fifth, there's a balance in the subject matter that I found helpful. Many areas of California offer seasonal festivals related to fishing, harvesting or simply cultural history. Anyone who loves California enjoys visit those festivals. The book is quite complete in telling you about those activities. At the same time, you get ideas of where the architecture, hiking, photography, swimming, surfing, and nature observing are good.

   This is probably the only book about California's coast that I have seen that both residents and potential visitors will treasure equally.

   After you have finished enjoying this remarkable book, I hope you will plan to visit some of California's lesser known but remarkable locales. I particularly recommend the section of Route 1 that goes south from Carmel through Big Sur, the Lost Coast, Fort Ross, Muir Woods, Point Reyes, Drake's Bay, Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Preserve, Morro Bay, Catalina, and Torrey Pines.

5 comments about 1897 Sears Roebuck & Co. Catalogue.

1. Imagine having an invention which would allow you to review various products from the comfort of your own home. An invention which would enable you to purchase food, clothing, books, tools, medicines, transportation, furniture and virtually any other consumer need. An invention which would permit you to choose various delivery options which varied by cost and speed. Oh and by the way the year is 1897. After reading this book I have to say that the 1897 Sears Roebuck Catalogue was truly the Internet of its day. The book lists literally thousands of items which could all be purchased from the Sears Roebuck Company. Many of the items are farming equipment and provide a look at what was needed to raise food in the small family ran farms of the day as opposed to our world of largely corporate farming. The drawings of the home entertainment options available show how much easier we have it today. The product descriptions, especially of the medical products are eye opening (you could actually buy opium) and the overall feel is that a person in the late 1800s, even if stuck in a small rural town, truly had access to the world provided he had a copy of the Sears Roebuck Catalogue.



2. This is such a great look into turn of century catalogue shopping. You'll be shocked at cheap things like violins and three piece suits used to be. For history or shopping buffs, this is a really, really neat buy.



3. I love it! It is fun to look at the the prices of the items that were sold back at the turn of the century.



4. This book is utterly fascinating for those who hold any sort of interest in bygone times. While not a step-by-step guide, it inadvertantly thrusts the reader into the role of a home owner of limited means in the late 1800s. You find yourself shopping, suckered in by the richly worded item desciptions and enticed by the promises of "best on the market," "guaranteed for a lifetime," and "will cure all diseases of the nervous system."
   
   Unconsciously, you create your own little shopping list and envision a home where the husband builds everything from the buggy to the bathrooms while the wife prepares all the meals and pretties herself with skin whiteners and hair lotions.
   
   I am so glad to have bought this catalogue. I use it as a writing prompt for my high school students, to encourage creative and analytical thought, and they delight in it. I implore everyone to investigate this book.



5. It is truly a window into the era of Queen Victoria and rural american life.