By Christian Young
 

GENDER-BENDER BOOK RATED “BEST OF 2009” BY BARNES & NOBLE, SCHOOL LIBRARY SCHOOL JOURNAL, AND ROBOTS AND VAMPS

Anza-Borrego: A Photographic Journey. By Ernie Cowan.
Foreword by Diana Lindsay (Anza-Borrego Foundation and Institute).
San Diego. Sunbelt Publications. 2008. Illustrated with full color plates. 80 pages. $19.95.

Reviewed by Walter Hall

Cowan captures the essence of this grand desert Park and shares it with the world in this heartfelt account. Mark C. Jorgensen, Superintendent, Anza-Borrego.

December 17, 2009 (Borrego) -- This is the story of a desert love affair. A romantic journey suitable for all ages. San Diego author Ernie Cowan put his heart on his sleeve for Anza-Borrego many years ago. With this luminously illustrated volume, it is easy to understand why.

San Diego Bay: A Call for Conservation

By the Students at Jacobs High Tech High. Foreword by E. O. Wilson. Preface by Jane Goodall.

University of California San Diego Sea Grant Program. San Diego. 2009. Paperback. Illustrated. 344 pages. $24.95.  Distributed by Sunbelt Publications, El Cajon, CA.

Reviewed by Walter Hall

Part history, part politics, part biology, part artistic reflection and all heart…a remarkable testament to the power of project-based learning in a complex and changing world. -- Allison Alberts, Zoological Society of San Diego.

San Diego teacher Dr. Jay Vavra and his colleagues at Gary and Jerri-Ann Jacobs High Tech High have quietly accomplished something extraordinary. Over the past six years, under the rubric of the San Diego Bay Study, they engaged some 250 students in original research leading to ecological assessments that today are invaluable references for San Diego’s civic leaders, policymakers and conservation advocates.

SAN DIEGO, CA October 20, 2009 Join author Joey Seymour in celebrating the launch of his new book San Diego’s Finest Athletes: Five Exceptional Lives on Thursday, November 5th. The launch party for the book, published by Sunbelt Publications of El Cajon,  will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 PM at the San Diego Hall of Champions.

I’M IN THE TUB, GONE. By Richard James Carlson

Publish America, Baltimore. 2004. 123 pages.
Available at the San Diego Police Museum and on Amazon.com

Reviewed by Walter Hall

“Today is the final day of this life…”

Only once in a long while do we encounter a book that just won’t let go. This is one of those books. The subject is suicide; the format is simple: a collection of the notes left behind. Identities are protected, but the texts are rendered just as they were found. Unvarnished. No commentary. Just a last wish, an edgy accusation, or a lonely cry against the coming night. Each voice wallops the unsuspecting reader from a different corner of life.

An experienced SDPD emergency negotiator, Richard Carlson introduces the collected letters and notes with a personal appeal not to give up. He is addressing two audiences: those who would consider taking their lives and the rest of us. After absorbing even a handful of these notes, readers will find it difficult to argue.

by Richard W. Halsey

Second Edition, Revised and Updated
Sunbelt Publications, San Diego. 2008. 232 pages, illustrated, color plates.

Reviewed by Walter Hall

“The Viejas fire in ’01, the Galivan fire in ’02, and then again during the Cedar fire in ’03. It’s always the same damn thing.” -- A weary incident commander back on the fire line

George Galdorisi and Thomas Phillips.
Minneapolis, Zenith Press. 2008. 642 pages.

Reviewed by Walter Hall