south of bixby bridge
592721
i read this book in one day!! could not put it down. through trevors personal struggles and facing loss, to coming back to life!! this book will grab you and suck you in! a total page turner, couldn't wait to see what happened next. it makes you realize that we are all human and we make mistakes, everyone could learn to forgive! we all deserve second chances....thanks ryan, this was the best gift ever!!<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/South-of-Bixby-Bridge/dp/0615511600/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">South of Bixby Bridge</a>
3188813
My teenage music passion was early jazz, and one LP I absolutely wore out (playing it on a portable player with the type of needle that looked like a sharpened pencil lead) was the George Avakian production The Bix Beiderbecke Story Volume 2: Bix and Tram.  I still have it, but trying to listen to it is painful, given the pops and skips it accumulated during those thousands of playbacks.

I serendipitously discovered the availability of this album on CD, and when it came it was a moving experience to hear "Singin' the Blues" in all its remastered beauty.  Recorded between February and September of 1927, this album offers a good overview of the Bix and Tram recordings, some of the best of Twenties jazz, from small ensemble "dixieland" jazz to some of the larger orchestral arrangements for occasions when the guys put on their tuxedos and played posh places.

The best of this album are the aforementioned "Singin' the Blues," with perhaps Bix's most famous solo, each note perfect and achingly beautiful, "I'm Coming Virginia," "Ostrick Walk," "Clarinet Marmalade," and "Riverboat Shuffle" which feature this group of virtuosos at the top of their form.  Also included are two Bix, Tram, and Eddie cuts and "In A Mist." Although "Way Down Yonder in New Orleans," may seem a bit hackneyed at first hearing, it's important to remember that that is the case only because their style and arrangement has been copied by every dixieland group on the planet since.

Some great Bix & Tram classics are not included in this grouping, but are available as downloads from The Complete Bix Beiderbecke and Frank Trumbauer Collection, which also includes some fluffy pop songs of the era, valuable just for the flashes of Bix's magic, and some interesting later pieces in a clearly "swing" style which suggest what might have been had Bix lived longer.

These guys were cool before the word was invented.  Louis Armstrong said about Bix, "Those pretty notes went right through me."  Me, too, Louie. They still do.
3964317
Not for South Sound, good info for mid to north sound.  Nothing for anything south of the Narrows Bridge.  It has some good basic info, I plan on using some of it to fish PA next year for halibut I will update the review after year of using it.
4420690
A good example of life in a southern town.  Enjoyed the connection to Helen Keller, who became an inspiration to people all over the world.  Would definitely recommend, a good and clean read.
1538022
I had no idea that there were Quakers in the south. It is sad in a way that there are less of them now. I liked the book. Lots of plot twist and turns.
1493780
growing up in the area, its appalling what has happened to such a gorgeous place.  branson, mo has run amok (again) down into arkansas and one of the trust fund (and uneducated, i would bet) daughters of sam walton has built a supposedly beautiful art gallery--i'll hold judgment on that until i see it-- that should be in little rock instead of the middle what used to be a beautiful area of a college towns surrounded by small mountain art communities that carried their own stories back into the 1800's.
i thank the author for the timely warning. i was planning to take my Yankee husband to many of my favorite places back "home." in this case, it seems it home is no longer there.
2299181
Bought this as a gift for one of my bridge "regulars."
3587533
Peter Stowell's book on Dixfield was a joy to read.  As a visitor to the Dixfield area over many years, I never knew very much about the town.  His book brought it to life...from the buildings long gone that I remember from childhood, to family names that are familiar through friends we've made during summers in Weld.  It was a pleasure, too, to meet Peter at the recent Weld Lake Day.  Thank you, Peter!!
148771
Super excited to unexpectedly see a photo of my uncle, Dave Thornbury in here :) A friend sent me the link and I had to buy it. I grew up there, and really miss it. Loved all the photos!
4019077
I bought and read this book after meeting the author during my visit to Southern Pines, NC, which was in the early part of 1993. We met through my Uncle David Salmon. Wilma invited me to have dinner with her and her granddaughter. I spent a lovely evening with the most delightful Southern Lady. Dinner was served under the glow of candles..with a skylight over the dinning table. Later, we retired to her library, where I bought this book, Wilma signed my copy. As the evening was spent visiting with her family's history..I saved the book for reading after the trip was over. Now, the book is delightful, sad..yet it draws you from page to page with seaming-less ease..Before you know it, the book has ended..Yet my fingers kept wanting to turn, reach around another page..It was an unexpected ending..You will enjoy..this true story of Wilma's grandfather's role in our Southern history. It is simply that. Enjoyable.
793152
enjoyed the character development, and the personal look at the s*** was happening the south. makes me feel much more connected to it.

some of the characters were a hoot -- loved minny and hated hilly!
3579115
Charleston is a beautiful southern city.  We were there just a week ago for a "destination" wedding.  The history of Charleston is smudged when you realize a lot of the beautiful old homes and buildings were built by slaves, and the preachers from the pulpits, and elected officials supported the rule of white men and the institution of slavery;  what a blot on our southern heritage. This was an excellent book and I hope the rights are quickly bought for a movie.  Saundra Gray
3057614
Great game.  I'm stuck on the bridge right now and haven't played in a while.  It seems like they like to overwhelm you in some spots.
3557210
This book is a collection of black and white photographs taken around Bridgewater primarily in the early to mid 1900's.  Each photo is accompanied by a few sentences telling about the photo and a bit of related history. This brings me to my one complaint about the book.  I would have liked more text and more history.  But the pictures are wonderful and well worth the price.  Having grown up in Bridgewater it was a lot of fun thumbing through this book.  It was interesting to see a place I lived so much of my life long before I was ever born, and to see how much the town has changed.  Though it wasn't always for the better.  Obviously if you're not from Bridgewater or Southeastern Massachusetts this book will probably hold little interest for you.  But if you are and you have any interest in local history.  I would highly recommend it.
1798708
It's pretty clear that Mr. Petroski likes bridges. I do to. In fact I just recently drove many miles out of my way to go see the new Sundial bridge designed by the Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava in Redding, California. My one complaint here would be that I'd sure like to have seen more pictures. His words are elequent, his descriptions great, but remember the bit about picture and a thousand words.

Bridges take up about half the book. then he goes on to describe an eclectic collection of engineering projects that don't quite fit together but which make nice little essays of their own.

Interesting enough, a couple of his essays cover engineering projects that failed. In his interestingly named Vanities of the Bonfire, he gives an engineering report of the collapse of the stack of logs that made up the 1999 bonfire at Texas A&M. It would be very amusing except that it killed a dozen people and injured several more. Consistent with todays law suit environment, it is now estimated that a new bonfire would cost between one and one and a half million dollars.
338972
Beautiful pictures of bridges, but I have nice bridge pix already.  I wanted boxes for each date so I could write stuff in them.  The dates are simply numbers 1-31 written across the bottom of the pictures.  Reminds me of the clock with the dots instead of a face that Felix bought when he remodeled the apartment on the Odd Couple.
746505
Like most books on covered bridges they are far and few. Most are out of print. This particular book is very informative and well written.