How interesting that this book has been published by the same publisher who gave us Michael Moore's best seller "Stupid White Men."

Some interesting elements of the book is the hypocrisy elements of Mr. Moore from his upbringing to his rants against the Republicans and their big business connection while he himself is aligned with Disney and other big all American mega million-billion business enterprises and in fact is racking in tens of millions of dollars for his own bank account. A humble Dali Lama, Mother Teresa type Moore is NOT.

After seeing Moores Roger and Me movie and seeing him on 60 Minutes and the PBS Charlie Rose shows where he waxed poetic about the plight of his blue collar Flint, Michigan home and his Dad who worked in the auto industry I admit I was taken aback reading that he was born and raised in the wealthy, lily-white town of Davison, Michigan, and NOT Flint, Michigan. By the way check out the Charlie Rose show for transcripts which show Moore to be someone who hates being challenged when it comes to facts.

I already knew of his short term stint at Mother Jones magazine which I read, and how he was fired but it was an eye opener to find out that even Ralph Nader couldn't stand him and gave him the boot. And how he attacked how he attacked Pauline Kael, Harlan Jacobson and other critics who exposed his deceits and how he lost a lawsuit for betraying Larry Stecco in "Roger & Me," etc. I guess I was shocked at just how ruthless and mean Moore is in real life and how he seems to never have heard the adage about being careful how you treat people on the way up because of how they will treat you on the way down. And trust me he will come down with a thud if not soon, sometime.

As a member of the NRA I know that in Bowling for Columbine (which is an interesting movie) that he gave the impression and I'm being kind here that Charlton Hestons famous "cold, dead hands speech" was made in Denver at the NRA gathering that had been planned for over a year, when in fact it was made in Charlotte, N.C. Moore also gave the 'impression' that one could walk into the bank shown and open and account and walk out with a gun when in FACT there was a waiting period for a background check.

The book also talks about how he badly abused the staff during a speaking engagement at London's Roundhouse Theater, how he verbally attacked someone who questioned his hefty speaking fees and how he went after a conservative film maker who was making a Roger and Me type film about Mr. Moore himself.

I also like the authors take on the whole Moore and Narcissistic Personality Disorder which is something I advise readers to do a google.com search on, which might make you go 'oh my god'. I also like the fact the authors remind the reader that Moore is a filmmaker, not a documentarian. In fact Moores latest movie Fahrenheit 9/11 makes Moore look like Oliver Stones illegitimate child. Sad thing is this book shows that Moore would have been at home as the propagandist for Hitler.

What struck me when I read this book was a feature article the New York Times did a half dozen or so years ago where a writer equated Christians as being uneducated and backwards. Something that is so totally false its almost laughable for its obvious ignorance as a statement and exposure of the authors preconceived, non-researched bias.

Same with this book. He seems more upset that his fellow Kansasians (?)march to a different drummer, or are more patriotic and actually believe in a God and attend worship services. He completely ignores the fact Kansas has some well respected universities and that the standard of living and quality of life is far superior to the élitist areas he prefers.

I am a proud Californian whose family has been here since the 1860's so I am not reading What's the Matter with Kansas as a disgruntled Kansasian but as someone who has traveled the United States enough and love the mid west and its values which are a lot like here in the Mother Lode of California where American flags fly from home porches, where prayer before meals is a habit, and where proud to be an American comes easily off ones tongue. And he admits in interviews that "Kansas" is a metaphor for the U.S.A. He has noted that today Kansas is the sort of place where the angry, suspicious world view typified by Fox News or the books of Ann Coulter is a common part of everyday life. Seems he is mad that what he sells isn't being bought.

He also seems bent out of shape that the folks of Kansas (and in my opinion anyone who isn't of his ilk) don't consider FDR a God, and perhaps value eating dinner together, marriages that last, hot dogs, baseball and Moms apple pie. He seems to detest the free enterprise system and the fact that someone may want to make an honest living and GASP get wealthy doing so. To bad he doesn't look to a neighboring state where Warren Buffet one of the countries wealthiest members lives. He wants the reader to believe that Republicans almost never act in the economic interest of the working class, while completely ignoring the documented facts that small business make up the majority of market producing jobs and that it has been the conservatives and Republicans in general who have fought to help the small business owners. He obviously doesn't read the Chamber of Commerce publications.

He also wants the reader to believe that Republicans accomplish little on the cultural front. I suspect he hates Mel Gibson and loves Michael Moore. Well I'm a Republican and I have been on local library and cultural arts commissions and have fought like the other Republicans and conservative Democrats who served with me to better fund the library and arts programs and to great success, due in large part to local small businesses. So the author is full of hot air on this subject!

And talk about talking down to or being holier than thou, he uses words like lunatics and deranged to describe good honest middle Americans who don't happen to agree with what he preaches. Talk about needing to be pushed off his pedestal, the man is an egomaniac in my opinion. To full of himself as my mid-west in-laws would say.

The author also snivels at the fact that the folks of Kansas and most (in my opinion) all American towns and states, don't want his way of life or beliefs. Sorta reminds me of the ivory tower types who don't like the fact that 'we' outside their sheltered domains, don't agree that America is bad, marriage is bad, or that telling the truth is good, and being grateful for each new day is enough.

The book in my opinion is nothing more than sour grapes. Sour grapes that those who don't buy his faulty logic and theories are willing to say so and walk away. Oddly enough as he denounces middle American values and the good old American buck, yet he himself doesn't seem to turned off to hawk his book and make a hefty return himself. In my family his type is called a hypocrite.

What's the Matter With Kansas?, comes from a famous 1896 essay by William Allen White.

I own a few hundred cookbooks with a dozen or so being favorites and this is one of my favorites and for a variety of reasons. First because it is so complete and covers frying, poaching and steaming (a favorite),simmering and stewing, oven cooking, grilling,campfire (another favorite), smoke cooking and pickling. This makes it a well rounded fish cookbook.

The photos are excellent and the information on cooking utensils needed is precise and clear cut. Spices and other ingredients are covered so well as are step by step directions.

On page 6 there is a well laid out substitution chart that makes the book worth the price, and here are a few examples. A recipe calls for Whitefish, The chart notes that if Cisco is called for that Tullibee, herring o lake herring can be substituted. Page 7 shows detailed photos and text for preparing fish for cooking. Did you know that by sprinkling salt on the counter and laying the fish on the salt that this helps prevent the fish from slipping when filleting or deboning? Simply rinse fish with water when done. Or on page 11 that draining fried fish on cookie cooling racks placed over paper towels allows for more oil to drain and prevents the fried fish from becoming soggy?

Or on page 71 that pouring 1/4 to 1/2 inch of liquid like fish stock, wine, beer, or vegetable broth into the broiling pan before broiling adds moisture and flavor during cooking?

Some of my favorite recipes from the book are the Sauteed Trout with wild mushrooms, Potato flaked Fillets, the various Buttermilk based coatings, Northwest Salmon Burritos, Salsa stuffed Trout and Smoked Salmon Salad.

This is a cookbook for any serious, healthy eating fisherman/cook.

The first thing this book has going for it, is the size, since this is a book that you can carry with you on hunting trips as a step by step guide, or how to. Not only are the instructions absolutely complete but they are easy to follow, and the equipment required is inexpensive and in some cases free.

Every legally hunted bird is covered from field dressing, preserving to cooking and recipes.

The step by step instructions include either exact illustrations and/or black and white clear photographs. It is a book that the novice should own.

This is a book that is about the authors different fishing memories about fishing different types of water, from farm ponds, rivers and streams, lakes and the types of fish one is apt to find in each locale.

And I am a sucker for anyone who writes about fishing and hunting in Montana so this book didn't disappoint. Guess maybe someone has to either have experienced the small towns he speaks of or has to have a dream of wanting the experience. Again the book doesn't disappoint.

Also liked his Chapter which the book is named after and as usual he taught me something I didn't know about Brook trout. Page 188 'Brookies were originally introduced into the Rocky Mountains back around the turn of the century on the premise that more fish would be better than fewer fish. That seemed reasonable at the time, but it turned out that brook trout out competed our native cutthroats for food and spawning habitat, and some biologists now trace the decline of many cutthroat fisheries to the introduction of brookie'. 'Brook trout also have loose spawning requirements so they tend to overpopulate, stretch the food supply and become stunted, sort of like bluegills in a pond with no bass to eat up most of the little ones'.

Anyway, the book is a joy to read and I would highly recommend it for any serious or authentic fly fisherman's library.

I humbly admit that the title with sex in it made me curious since my partner (new man in my life) and I have a health libido that is matched only by the healthy fly fishing libido we share. So I bought the book, and am so glad I did.

Now I am a Montana, California, Washington and Idaho as well as New Zealand trout seeker so reading (this is where the sex comes in) of the northern Colorado Red Quill spinner and its short life span and how the fish love this bugaboo was truly fascinating. Since I had or have never given much though to the life cycles of various water bugs, flies I have seen dancing on the river tops as I have been fly fishing.

Chapter 13 titled RIVERS page 166 is utterly wonderful to read since I love small towns in remote areas near pristine rivers that are trout havens. So reading about similar areas like Frying Pan: Basalt, Colorado, the South Platte in Colorado, the Gunnison in Colorado, Roaring fork of the Colorado, the Green River in Utah, Bitterroot in Montana (which I know well), as well as the Yellowstone made me feel as if I were there. I could almost hear the water, the slight breeze and warmth of the sun as well as the sound of the inevitable fly that buzzed nearby. And at 11pm at night it would snap me from the pages and remind me that 'no' you cant go fish until morning.

What held my attention and makes this book a favorite read and a must for my bedside table is the states of Montana, Wyoming and Colorado written about so well. Guess having been to each state so often it is like a mini visit each time I re-read the book.

Make me want to grab Bill and suggest we move back to Montana where he as born and raised and where my Moms family roots go back to the early 1800's.

'Fly fishing is solitary, contemplative, misanthropic, scientific in some hands, poetic in others, and laced with conflicting aesthetic considerations. It's not even clear if catching fish is actually the point' is what the author shares and what I 100% agree with!

Loving Scotland and fly fishing (as well as New Zealand) I love his Chapter 8 titled Scotland and where he writes on page 89 of how the river was held in private hands and 'rented' out which was a subtle reminder to me of how fortunate I am to be able to drive a mere six miles to the Mokelumne here in the Sierras of California and with my California fishing license and my rod and a few flies, fish to my hearts content for native trout no less.

The book is well written and part diary, part educational how to and in an odd way but a positive way, a lesson in the mysteries of fly fishing and the people who are drawn and hooked for life.

Aside from the utterly awesome and accurate illustrations of dozens of flies, its the honesty of the author I appreciate. In reading how he came to tie his own flies I felt a kindred spirit because he mentioned, the artistic as well as the frugal, self reliant, and even scientific in a 'quaint, naturalistic sense' of tying ones own flies.

And that he looked at successful fly fisherman and their fly boxes and like himself and myself he saw a motley crew of flies, from 'either to long and gangly or short and stubby, neat or sloppy, trim or fat, bright or dull. They all caught fish in the right hands, and some of the best of them really did look like drowned rats'.

I had to laugh when I read on page 5 where he writes 'I also ran into the idea of flies as art, which further complicated things. I don't mean really well tied fishing flies, I mean display flies tied by people who had no intention of ever showing them to a fish,' since I have know people like that. Sadly they aren't good fisherman and in a couple instances tied flies that probably would have scared fish away.

Like the author 'For as long as I've fished with a fly rod, I've had a self conscious weakness for dry flies; first because of their puffed-up classiness, later in spite of it. Dry fly fishing may or may not be the most demanding way to catch fish, but everything about it is visual and beautiful and I've always been a sucker for that kind of thing'. (page 31)

The way the author describes the ins and outs of various flies along with accurate illustrations is a college level educational experience. He shares where he has fished with various flies, successfully as well as what each is made of. Which ones he uses most and why. Here is an example:

Page 39 'Blue Winged Olive Palm Merger. I tie it on either a Tiemco 200R or a Mustad 94840 hook in sizes 18 and 20. It has a long, sparse tail of wood-duck flank for a trailing nymph shuck, a body of olive goose biot, a small dubbed thorax (I use A.K.'s Blue Wing Olive blend), and a sparse, dun hen collar hackle. It looks like a traditional soft-hackled wet fly, and you can squeeze it wet so it sinks a fraction of an inch or grease it so it floats low in the surface film, where it works as an emerger or a crippled dun'.

He covers materials, hooks and tools needed as well as small, medium and large flies as well as spinners, midges, caddis damsels and hoppers, nymphs and streamers. Starting on page 134 he does in-depth explanations of what makes the various caddis i.e. 'Elk-Hair Caddis Light, hook mustard 94840, size 12-18;Thread yellow 8/0;Body:Yellow rabbit-fur dubbing, thin. Palmer hackle: medium ginger. Wing: sparse blond or medium bleached elk, tied down-wing style with the butts clipped to form a small head'. Now this is valuable information because it allows the novice or master to know what supplies to have on hand.

My Dad and brother are/were avid hunters and reading this book I was constantly reminded of why my family saved certain hides of elk, deer, rabbits, pheasant, quail, for flies. At the time I never gave it much thought and assumed everyone did. Not until I was an adult and happened upon a fly tie class where people were told where to purchase the stuff did it dawn on me that not everyone is the real McCoy.

What sets this book apart from other hunting and cook the kill books is its coverage of self-reliance and wholesome nutrition of wild game that more people should be aware of. This isn't a go out and kill for fun, and act like a jerk book. Its well thought out and for many like myself who live in rural, hunting areas a must own book.

And if I do say so myself it reminded me so much of all my late Father taught me about being personally responsible for what I ate. That wild game is healthier and that the quest is almost spiritual in nature, and that a quick clean kill is the obligation of the hunter. As is proper dressing out of the animal and NO waste!

Now I will ad that I am even a bigger fan since seeing Mr. Nugent on two shows the past few months. One was with his daughter where he was discussing his conservative values and one was with Sean Hannity (Fox channel) at the July 5th 2004 Freedom Concert which is a non-profit organization that provides scholarships to the children of American military personnel killed or permanently disabled in action.

Ted Nugent walks his talk which is a must for me!

It is so hard to improve on the five star reviews that have been written. But it was when I read 'Combat mind-set, proper sighting, tactical residential architecture, nuclear war - these are some of the many subjects explored by Jeff Cooper in this illustrated anthology. The author discusses various arms, fighting skills and the importance of knowing how to defend oneself, and one's honor, in our rapidly changing world' that I knew it would be a book I would read and use. In my personal opinion he is the best author on firearms and their use. The real McCoy and not some fictional Rambo type.

I know he is a former Marine Lt. Colonel who served in WWII and Korea,
history professor (Ph.D.) and an ongoing student of history, philosopher, adventurer, author, and shottist. Being an English language connoisseur I love that he uses words like shottist. So many people have noted to me that what sets the author apart from so many gun or firearm authors is his no nonsense, common sense approach to teaching about guns and gun uses. And how he teaches that they are tools and not recreational toys. Like the NRA and the Ducks Unlimited gun course I took he teaches that All firearms are loaded, keep your finger off the trigger unless your sights are on the target, never let the firearm point at anything you are not willing to destroy and
be sure of your target and what is behind it. He teaches and writes about the most
effective methods to learn for engaging and hitting human antagonists or game animals with the proper firearm. He is a common sense, no nonsense teacher which I would like to see cloned!

Back in 1975 he founded the American Pistol Institute API which taught rifle and shotgun pistol, usage and then the name was changed to Gunsite (gunsite.com). He is also the founder of the International Practical Shooting Confederation (ipsc.org), a member of the NRA Board of Directors, and Editor-at-large for Guns & Ammo magazine. I belong to the NRA (nra.org)and subscribe to and recommend Guns and Ammo magazine which you can subscribe to via Amazon.com.

Art Of The Rifle and his Principles Of Personal Defense are also excellent books.