California: Journeys By Great Writers
354622
I am very happy with this book along with how fast and easy it was to get it.  Thank You.
3418012
Re-reading it, slowly, for the first time in maybe 50 years or more, I was surprised at the beauty of the writing,  Being a Californian, I particularly enjoyed the passages describing the Salinas valley, and the way of life there around the turn of the last century.  Some characters were more plausible than others, but all were interesting.  I think I need to re-read more of Steinbeck's works.
280092
Going back and re-reading the works of Truman Capote is like visiting an old and trusted and extremely wise friend. Mr Capote as much as any writer I have read, knew the difference between good writing and very good writing and between very good writing and brilliant writing. And for most of his career, his writing was brilliant.

He could write as descriptively and beautifully as F. Scott Fitzgerald or as descriptively and brutally realistic as Joseph Conrad, but as much as any writer he knew the correct balance when it came to his writing, his subjects, and his characters.

"Music For Chameleons" includes a wonderful collection of short stories and a brilliant and gripping short, non-fiction, novel called "Handcarved Coffins."

The stories are quite a diversified collection of Americana and the locations include New York City, Los Angeles, New Orleans, the Midwest, and Alabama...and a little bit of Italy, Russia, and Switzland. Mr Capote feels as much at home writing about Hollywood stars, as he does about cleaning ladies working in Manhattan, or as he does about writing about murderers and a member of the Manson clan.

The one thing all the stories and the novel have in common is a vivid, undeniable "honesty."
"Honesty," the most important quality that only the greatest of writers have ever achieved.
4275197
These wonderfully written, highly engaging stories are rich with insight into a range of very different characters, revealed by finding the character at a turning point in his/her life. In my personal favorite, a seemingly patient woman's suffused rage surfaces to prevent her son from adopting his father's worst character traits. In another, we follow a young woman's mood shifts over a 24-hour period as they signal a shift in her life direction. Stegner never explains too much, and she captures brilliantly the sometimes tender, sometimes violent, creepy thoughts that exist just below the surface of polite discourse.

The stories have a powerful sense of place, with vivid physical details that propel the reader right into the scene with the characters. A woman looking out at Big Sur redwoods in the early morning: "Everything felt still, the only movement coming from the ground that was faintly huffing the heat it had held on to through the night."

Special bonus for Californians: Experience the most memorable ride up Highway 1 ever!!
3415823
This is a collection of eight intriguing stories from different authors. I found all of the writing well done and enjoyed each story. It is always fascinating to find a look at new authors through collections like this. The stories inside take a look at a somewhat similar them of alternate history and times. I won't go into each story, but I will just say this collection is a one to pick up and would make a great addition to anyone's library. The stories take you into a different dimension of thinking and on  a great journey.
3283323
I own and have thoroughly enjoyed all of James Lawrence's books.  California is my home state and I've been up and down her coastline, in her valleys, and lived in the beautiful SF Bay Area.  She has a lot to offer every person.  You haven't lived if you have never stood on one of her beaches and been bathed with the golden glow of a sunset.  It can give you the feeling that people talk about when they meditate.

The photography is by the best photographers ever born.  They are David Muench and his son, Mark.  A few photographs are by Zandria Muench Beraldo.  The photographs take you from the coastline on the west to the Sierra Mountains in the east and many places in between.  Some of these places look so remote that you think maybe no one, but them, ever set foot there.  If California was a beautiful woman, the photographs would show that she wears lush colors in her diversified landscapes.

This is a hardback book with 144 colorful photographs on 144-pages.  There are four areas covered:  Mountains, Oak and Grass, the Coast, and Deserts.  At the back, you will find a large, colorful map of this great state.

Why should you have this book?  The contents have many things to enjoy, besides the photographs.  James Lawrence shares his knowledge on some of California's history to support his premise of how this state brings "promise and fruition" to many people.  Then, he draws you into his story with details of a personal journey over California that he and a best friend, Marty Alameda, takes while flying in their hang-gliders and then their ultra-light planes.  Want to see what an ultra-light plane looks like?  Look at the picture on the back cover of the book showing James happily flying very high in his.  His stories give us details about the dangers of flying in these vehicles and why caution is so important.  You read about close calls and the humorous tales of the things that can happen when on a journey with a good friend.  There's a peaceful moment with a daughter.  James has a great gift for writing.  You begin to read his book, but after a short time, his descriptions have you there with him and Marty and you see what they saw at that time.  If you don't know California, you will when you finish and understand why she's a great state.
3524222
For me, Edward Abbey is one of the best all-time writers. He could do anything, from natural history observation in a scientific, yet layman, mode, to political rant, to incredible fiction. This book is full of amazing characters you come to love and hate. Its landscapes and images of the American west will fill you with wonder. It is a journey, an adventure, a mission, and an education. This book is often considered one of the best fiction pieces of the environmental front... but is fun reading for anyone who enjoys a heart pounding frolicking good time. The only unfortunate thing about this book is that its author passed much too early. Treat yourself to fine writing.

Patrick Michael Murphy
<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/ACROSS-THE-DESPERATE-MILES/dp/B004GUSAUW/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">ACROSS THE DESPERATE MILES</a>
4130581
I have had a wonderful Southern California, rainy afternoon going through the essays in this heart-warming, creative book. It is sheer, self-indulgent luxury to read the thoughts of this writer, who clearly knows her way around the myriad reasons so many people love their dog. If you have or have had a dog who is a central part of your life, then this collection is for you. You'll find yourself relating to many dog antics in this book; it will leave you both wanting to share your current dog stories and waxing nostalgic on one now dearly departed. Because this is a collection, there is the great largess for the reader to pause and reflect between essays. This is a book to be savored, read again, and recommended to friends.
202450
I read this collection every year and it is always a treat.  Jennifer Egan, an amazing writer, is also a fine curator. She says that beyond compelling premise and distinctive language these stories all have a surprise of some sort, a literary kicker or plot twist.  These do indeed delight with strong works from T.C. Boyle. Lauren Groff and Joyce Carol Oates. Do note that you may have read many of these  in The New Yorker, the Paris Review and Granta.  Egan notes that this year's crop of stories seem the province of privilege, and that does show through, in these mostly mainstream choices. In the back of the book is a list of other outstanding stories and this list is a group worth seeking out.
2804493
Tom

I think that you've had this book in your head for years.  You went to each place, enjoyed it with family and friends, and finally wrote it down to share it with all of us.  Every place you mentioned was familiar and comfortable.  I hope to see all of them someday. In these troubling times, I think its even more of a reason that we can explore the place we live in.  There's really no place like the Bay Area to be.  Thanks again, my friend.  Its a great book.

Dee
1982580
I am enjoying teaching this textbook so much to my students in Napa Valley - an absolutely wonderful collection of California-themed essay by California writers. If it wasn't a textbook, I'd give it to my friends as a gift!
4478186
Whitney Smith has compiled, edited and published a marvelous range of writings authored by Ms. Smith's good friend Myra Shiffmann Medeiros.

I read this book in several days flat.  Had I had the time, I would have read it in one sitting. This is a book of the life and works of an accomplished marketing copywriter turned author that grips you, draws you in, makes you laugh, makes you cringe, and ultimately leaves you feeling a slightly better person for having read it.

Myra has demonstrated her creative writing skills by constructing highly compelling stories, vividly drawing upon the memories of a large cast of family, friends, former enemies, even pets. And it seems to me, Myra combines the rich, well researched detail of contemporaries such as Laura Hillenbrand "Seabiscuit " and "Unbroken"  with the creative imagination of a Stephen King.

It is a descriptive work about triumph over adversity, about personality in animals and, most importantly, about the all-to-short life of a gifted, much-loved and remarkable lady.
909072
This is a memoir by a very good writer. The content is honest and captivating. David Berner, a friend, and his two sons hit the road in the tradition of Jack Kerouac's "On the Road." Berner reflects on a divorce, aging parents, and fatherhood throughout the trip. I loved the self-deprecating humor
3510568
David King Dunaway probably knows more than anyone about the soul of Route 66. For decades, he's been writing the stories of those who have traveled and lived along that fabled highway. The latest of his many books is a collection of what some familiar and not-so-familiar authors have written and what other "ordinary" people have told Dunaway in the many oral histories he's recorded.
The selections are moving, sometimes humorous, informative and revealing. All give different perspectives of this American icon. Dunaway's introductions to the pieces are also thoughtful, contextual and evocative. In addition, he's provided an extensive bibliography.
This is really Route 66 off the beaten track.
3413777
David Page may have invented a new genre -  the literary travel guide. His book starts with natural and cultural history - "Contexts" - the back-stories to the remarkable places he describes in graceful language.

Page has skied, climbed, walked or driven to all of these places and this shows in the how-to-get-there chapter called "Into the Hills".

Each area chapter, Death Valley, Owens Valley and the Eastern Sierra, Mammoth Lakes, Sequoia Kings Canyon and Yosemite, has more context stories and exhaustive listing of places to eat and stay, and things to see and do. The book is crammed with details: you can get rattlesnake empanasas at the Furnace Creek Inn, the location of the only Indian restaurant between LA and Carson City in Nevada, where to check the white-water flows on the Kaweah River, the temperature of Keogh Hot Springs and much more.

Describing the highest, lowest, snowiest, driest, sunniest, and arguably some of the most beautiful places in the US, this book is a splendid resource for exploring a remarkable land. This is a book worth reading, even if you never get to visit these places. But I hope you do.
- Bill Becher
266738
This is an excellent collection of essays about the American Frontier and the stories and people who were part of it all. It includes 28 essays written by 28 different Western Writers of America ,who are experts in their fields and who attempt to set the record straight on the events and people we read so much about in history,fiction and other forms of  Western writing.
 It takes a lot of astute research to sort the truth out of the legends,folk tales,myths,exaggerations,magnified,preposterous,sensational,melodramatic,farfetched,false,distorted,fabricated and even whopping lies that have come down to us ;telling about what went on in the development of the west;and these are the best writers around today,to get it right.
 Each essay is a stand alone piece,so one can pick the ones they want to read ar skip, as well as in which order they choose to read them.
 Whether it's the Indians,Mexicans,Railroads,Miners,Lawmen,Outlaws,Explorers,Politicians, Famous or Infamous,or whatever;it's all here.
 There is a short piece on each of the contributers giving details about their other writings.
One of the essays is a little different "R.I.P. The Whereabouts of Forty Celebrated Westerners", and what became of them after their time in the limelight, and where they were finally laid to rest.
 In addition to being a good read,it is a good resourse to keep handy to verify the truth about things one comes across while reading Western writing.
3898701
I agree with the previous reviews so I will not duplicate their effort. I too want to emphasize that this book's strength is in its wonderful telling of the stories of western expansion that many Americans know only a piece of. It is an excellent survey with enough detail to do justice to the  individual episodes without getting bogged down. Each subject in the book  has been treated in more detail elsewhere; where this book shines is in  covering them all and deftly weaving them together to give a portrait of  19th-century western America. I think those of us who live in California  especially appreciate learning about the people for whom much of our  landscape is named. Read it and tell your friends about it.