December 2012 | Lime San Francisco

Dancing with the Witchdoctor: One Woman's Stories of Mystery and Adventure in Africa Review

Average Reviews:(More customer reviews)Dancing with the Witchdoctor is a marvelous book, all the more remarkable because it is Kelly James' first one. This account of some of her experiences as a private investigator in Africa reads like a well-crafted novel, a page turner at that. But as she says in the preface, these tales are not about...

Angel Island (Images of America: California) Review

Average Reviews:(More customer reviews)This book is about Angel Island in San Francisco Bay. It is a collection of vintage photos and a rich text written by former Mayor Branwell Fanning and journalist William Wong, the native son whose ancestors had successfully passed the Angel Island Immigration Station.The introduction gave a comprehensive...

The Way Some People Die (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard) Review

Average Reviews:(More customer reviews)This early Lew Archer novel starts off in straightforward fashion. Mrs. Samuel Lawrence of Santa Monica, a poor but proud widow, hires Archer to find her missing daughter, a young nurse named Galley. Archer goes where the clues lead and soon finds he is involved in something more than a simple missing...

Quiet As They Come Review

Average Reviews:(More customer reviews)In tracking how a group of characters drift into mainstream American culture, Angie Chau has written a book that confluences elegantly with the currents of contemporary U.S. fiction. The book is both an endearing account of a becoming-American family's survival, and a nuanced report on the deracination...

Mongrel : Essays, Diatribes, Pranks Review

Average Reviews:(More customer reviews)Mongrel is a wondrous, devious little book, full of itself, yes, but also full of innovative insights about being a diasporic Chinese in white America and a contrarian gay in a politically correct Bay Area in love with it self too much. I especially like his wry take on Singapore as a homey mall (his...

The Oracles: My Filipino Grandparents in America Review

Average Reviews:(More customer reviews)I loved this story. Pati writes in an engaging manner which makes it easy to read. I saw the author at a reading and she is throughly engaging. Her story is humorous, touching and will bring back many memories of growing up. It's interesting how a half-japanese and caucasian male can relate to so many...

Out in the Castro: Desire, Promise, Activism Review

Average Reviews:(More customer reviews)This is something of a prejudiced review since I was one of the contributors to this book. But there is NO other book that covers the history of the "gay mecca" of San Francisco as thoroughly and as completely as this one does. The book is a paean to the "gay ghetto" of San Francisco with particular...

Blue Lonesome Review

Average Reviews:(More customer reviews)When an accomplished, experienced author tackles loneliness, frustration, chicanery and murder, you get something like Blue Lonesome. Jim Messenger is a lonely, bored San Francisco CPA, drifting through life. He observes a woman called Janet Mitchell at a cafe where he eats dinner every night. Messenger...

The Jury Master Review

Average Reviews:(More customer reviews)Billed as a stunning debut and legal thriller, this book is neither. It is filled with caricatures - highly successful attorney, (and an ex-marine), with a near genius IQ; his girl Friday, a young attractive single mother with a heart of gold; street wise, sarcastic yet tenacious homicide detective;...

Treasures of the Conservatory of Flowers Review

Average Reviews:(More customer reviews)Nina Sazevich's informative text is beautifully enhanced with the full color photography of Kevin J. Rest in "Treasures Of The Conservatory Of Flowers", a showcase compilation of diverse flowering plants carefully cultivated at San Francisco's Conservatory of Flowers. This is the oldest surviving municipal...

City Come A-Walkin' Review

Average Reviews:(More customer reviews)For those of you that don't know john shirley, he is the father of Cyberpunk...a master of it. his novel, city come a-walkin', is one of my favorites, telling the story of a club owner who is visited by a representation of a city , in the form of a man. i highly recomend this book for those who are into...

Lonely Planet USA (Country Travel Guide) Review

Average Reviews:(More customer reviews)By trying to pack so much information into one book, this one loses the depth I've come to expect from Lonely Planet. I just can't imagine a trip where this would be more helpful than the more specific, regional books on the United States. Also, Lonely Planet in general offers some of the best travel...

Island: Poetry and History of Chinese Immigrants on Angel Island 1910-1940 Review

Average Reviews:(More customer reviews)No immigrant population has ever been treated as shabbily and violently as the Chinese, who began arriving in large numbers during the California Gold Rush and who were recruited in even larger numbers to build transcontinental railroads, build levees in California, and to supplant African-American cotton...

Howl on Trial: The Battle for Free Expression Review

Average Reviews:(More customer reviews)When I read this book I felt a certain nostalgia, because the "Howl" obscenity trial took place fifty years ago when I was a kid, and the Beatnik writers, of whom Ginsberg became the most famous, seem so rarified to me now. It's as though they had been filmed in black and white and the movies now jump...

Usability Engineering Review

Average Reviews:(More customer reviews)As a Web site designer, I've long been an advocate of JakobNielsen's ideas -- to an extent. Usability is arguably the mostimportant aspect of any design project, and an aspect too often ignored by many software and Web site designers.Mr. Nielsen, in his book, very aptly points out typical errors and...

Delivery Boy Review

Average Reviews:(More customer reviews)Roland Bianchi has written a charming and warm story about the fabulous days in San Francisco, which made it the special place that it is today. His recollections of the Italians in North Beach are terrific, interesting and accurate. The stories of his wives are touching and truly beautiful. Recommend...

Great Escapes: Northern California (Great Escapes) Review

Average Reviews:(More customer reviews)I always thought you should have a really heavy guidebook when traveling, even close to home. But I don't think that any more after reading this one. This book is a great deal, an excellent guide for both locals and visitors to the Bay Area. From Big Sur to Mendocino to Lake Tahoe, it gathers a wide...