5 comments about The Caliph's House: A Year in Casablanca.

1. If you are the adventurous type with an open mind to other cultures, this is a fun book to read. Tahir Shah describes his new home in Casablanca with dry wit and had me laughing out loud. I learned so much about a culture I knew nothing about, but it isn't a text book, or even travel type of read. The only question my book club members all had was, how did his wife not leave him during the very trying and hilarious remodeling project!



2. I have read sveral of Tahir Shah's books. He is an incredibly gifted writer. This book is probably his best, though I also liked In Search of King Solomon's Mines very much. His writing is very smooth and natural- it's almost impossible to put this book down and I am eagerly anticipating his next book. I am truly surprised he suvives his adventures in general. In this story he risks everything financially on the purchase of a house in Morocco and would have lost everything without several strokes of very good luck. In other books he risks his life- often several times. I loved the parts about Jins. One thing I get tired of his constant overplaying of his Afghan roots. One grandfather was Afghan, a Pashtun, that's it. He is "75%" British and was raised in the UK.



3. After spending time in Morocco and doing business with a Moroccan, this book and Shah's writing of his experiences has helped me to better understand some of my own experiences and appreciate my role in learning about the culture. It is a current, true to life, mostly lighthearted look into today's Moroccan culture. It is a fast read and one I would say for anyone thinking of visiting Morocco or wanting to know about the culture, it would be well worth the investment of time.



4. The foreign home restoration genre takes a real turn with Tahir Shah's experiences in Casablanca. His patience was amazing. I would have gone stark raving mad. I enjoyed his writing and have gone on to other books written by him. His wife must be a saint to have put up with all of the Caliph's House problems.



5. Tahir Shah has written another charming book about his experiences in a strange and wonderful land. He manages, once again, to both render and strip away the mystery of the subject of his book: Casablanca and, to a lesser extent, Morocco at large.
   
   The book is (purposely I gather) written in the same form as Peter Mayle's A Year in Provence, right down to the hand-drawn sketches. Each chapter follows his experiences, together with his wife and children, in a purely chronological order, during his first year living in, and restoring, the Caliph's House in Casablanca.
   
   The book is great and full of insights and wonderful little anecdotes. It's peppered with colourful characters and histories and is, to my mind, quite deeply personal as well. I suspect that some artistic license has been taken by Shah for the sake of the story and to keep the drama high (surely he's not still surprised by references to Jinn after month seven...) but it's all perfectly acceptable.
   
   I look forward to getting a copy of the sequel shortly and can also recommend another of his books, The Sorcerer's Apprentice, for a fascinating and unique look at the culture of magic and mysticism in India.

5 comments about Uganda, 5th: The Bradt Travel Guide.

1. Philip Briggs has produced a masterpiece with his 4th edition of 'Uganda: the Bradt Travel Guide'. As a specialist tour operator who has visited Uganda before, I am familiar with other Uganda guidebooks and Bradt's latest edition is without a doubt, the best around. Everything the prospective visitor needs to know about Uganda is contained in this superb book. Briggs has done an exceptionally thorough job of updating the guide and I am confident that it will enable readers not only to see the best of the country, but also to understand it.



2. I've traveled to over 40 countries in the past 15 years and read between 1-3 travel guides before going to each country.
   This is one of the best travel guides I've ever read. Very detailed, current, no superficiality. Strong on history, sights and culture. I really can't think of how this book could have been improved.
   And read Abyssinian Chronicles before you go to Uganda. Wonderful character development and a Ugandan's perspective on history and culture in that country.



3. We have read this book front to back and though we don't leave for a few weeks we feel so much more informed about opportunities within and country and tips to be better prepared. Great resource!



4. I'll start by saying we've not travelled yet, but we've used books on other coutries over the years, and this one is well written, and seems well though out and presented. It has covered everything I've wanted to know before travelling very well.
   
   I'll comment on the accuracy after November!
   Merv.



5. Relatively up to date information although a few facts were off. Easy to read and well put together for a country that is not often specifically featured in books and has only started to invest in tourist endeavors. Reviews of hostels, hotels were accurate. More maps needed though. Overall helpful and complete - appreciated the historical sections.

5 comments about The Shadow of the Sun.

1. You can really feel the heat and human struggle when reading this book. If you read traveller books about Africa you will learn what to see and where to go. In "the Shadow of the Sun" you will read about what you will see if you turn a wrong corner from a main street and meet ordinary people - or get stuck somewhere. I have lived in Ethiopia and visited several other African countries, but this is the first book I have read that describes how it really is if you don't follow the main tourist stream.



2. The single most accurate, complex, and compelling title on Africa I've ever read--and I lived there.



3. Kapuscinski is an excellent writer and this transalation is done very well. You will learn a lot about African culture and politics. The book is divided into multiple chapters which are all like independent short articles. My criticism is that I always wanted to learn more about what the author was talking about and then the chapter would end and he would move on to a completely new country and issue. A map of Africa will be very handy while reading this book and probably should have been included in the book.
   
   If you are interested in learning about Africa in general this an excellent book to start with and it will trigger you to focus more on certain aspects that attract you attention. It did inspire me to look up a lot of things on the internet. Overall excellent writing and well researched.



4. Shadow of the Sun
   
   Excellent introduction to the African continent. The author's writing is clear and beautiful. He writes in a way that richly evokes the images and experiences that he is going through, but his writing is light and to-the-point, not burdened with unnecessary or long-winded description. A master of writing style.
   
   What also helps is that Kapuchinski truly has great insight into the people, systems, and cultures he encounters, and his experiences are truly unique and exciting because he was courageous enough to go where most white people did not.
   
   The only "flaw" of this book was, for me, the fact that the overall picture of the African continent and its people was rather depressing. One finishes this book and despairs a bit for the future of Africa. It is all understandable: such great poverty, such unjust leadership systems, such corruption and rule of brute force, such lack of education and learning...how can things ever get better?
   
   This feeling of desolation is what is leaning me against reading another of Kapuchinski's books, at least anytime soon. Moreover, although he wrote about lots of different places, the stories to some extent begin to sound very similar - they are mostly stories of brutality, oppression, injustice, poverty and hunger, lack of security, and random violence. Sure, the details of the "how" differ - but the "what" is quite similar. While I suppose that is the reality for a large part of Africa, I can't help feeling that once I have read one book like that, I already know to some extent what the next one will say.



5. I could not put this book down. Poetic, persistent, compelling, a beautiful and sobering book about the African experience in recent history. Based on this book I am eager to read every book he has published.

5 comments about On This Earth: Photographs from East Africa.

1. This is one of the most beautiful 'coffee-table' books I have in my collection. The photos are outstanding, with clear, strong shots of the subject. The book is filled with full-page, high quality photography that will make you wish you'd bought 2 books...one to keep on the coffee table, and one to deconstruct and frame.



2. The day I got this book I spent almost an hour flipping through the pages and soaking in the beauty of these photos. It was then that I decided Nick Brandt was my new favorite photographers. He captures the African wildlife with so much power and natural beauty that it's almost unreal and his post-processing adds a whole other layer to the photos. I would suggest this book to any photo or animal enthusiast, it is quite simply one of the best photography books I have found.



3. Nick Brandt's collection of photography is absolutely stunning. His work is much more akin to portraits than traditional wildlife photography. There is an intimacy between Brandt and his animal subjects which resonates in each photo. Page after page, "On This Earth" shows us the humanity and soul of these animals. Brandt has made a brilliant case for why these creatures have the same right to live on this earth as we do.



4. This is a collection of beautiful photographs. The prints are warm, with good blacks. This made a great gift for our friends that had travelled in Africa.



5. Amazing BW pictures. Very nice and a good edition. Very interesting for all photo-africa lovers....

5 comments about Ghana, 4th (Bradt Travel Guide).

1. Excellent resource for travelers to Western Ghana. Contained more and better information than books other travelers carried. Very current - included significant changes (e.g. currency change in summer of 2007). Provides enough information about sites to make wise choices when time prevents seeing everything.



2. This is a great travel guide. I recommend it to anyone traveling to Ghana.



3. This book (I actually own the earlier edition) literally saved my life and made my trip to Ghana last summer life-changing. Phillip Briggs offers uniquely funny and truly insightful advice about not only how to get around in and get the most out of this amazing country, but he also thoroughly reviews all the best accommodation, sights, places to eat, and activities at every budget. A complete work. The best guidebook I ever purchased.



4. As I write I am currently traveling in Ghana. The Bradt guide is incredibly thorough and up to date. I have traveled to many different regions relatively hassle free. That is it to say, Ghana works at a very different pace but the Bradt guide helped prepare me.
   
   One note: Buy a map of Ghana and Accra, it will be very helpful. Accra is cluttered and confusing and demands more detail than the 2 page map in the Bradt guide.
   
   Either way the book couldn't be much better.



5. i have found this book thorough and trustworthy - and definitely much better than the lonely planet. recommended for independent-minded travellers

5 comments about Dark Star Safari: Overland from Cairo to Capetown.

1. This book feels like it was written by a sadist for the benefit of armchair masochists. Theroux sounds like he was a ganja-smoking hippie living and working in Africa back in the 60s, so he is taking a nostalgic bad trip down memory lane. He decides to travel from one end of the continent to another, but eschews the comfort, speed, and safety of flying to be able to go by every other grimy, stinking, dangerous conveyance imaginable. Kind of like a dirty African version of "Planes, Trains and Automobiles". The more ugly and uncomfortable the travel is, the more he seems to enjoy it. He tells us how many African countries have sunk further down into poverty, laziness, and ill health since his last visit, and he blames this deterioration in great measure to the efforts of various do-gooders, such as pious missionaries and pompous foreign aid workers. He reminds one of Rush Limbaugh's characterization of the creation of an American dependency class by ill-founded welfare programs. This may be true, but it is depressing reading for a person looking for an enjoyable travel book.
   
   Fortunately, Thoroux doesn't take his wife or any family members on this painful, ugly journey. He seems to be following a philosophy made famous by Greta Garbo in one of her movies: "I vant to be alone!" He took great pleasure in being out of touch and unreachable during most of this trip. He succeeded in this effort, and it wouldn't be a great loss if this book received the same fate.



2. After reading Theroux's observations about Africa from the 60's and current years, I better understand the harm that the foreign aid givers are doing to African's motivation to be self sufficient!



3. mon, dat Paul Theroux--he like de old friend commin to your door after longtime and you be wonderin "which one showed up, mon--de Jekyll or de Hyde?" de Jekyll, oh my stars, mon, he be de followin: bitter, cantankerous, unforgivin, ruthless in he shrewd assessments, mon, of de characters of de characters (all over de world, not just de Africa) he meets and not so much interviews but interrogates. nothin escape dis Jekyll's scrutiny. no wonder he such long long friends wich de nasty but brilliant V.S. Naipaul--annodder writer you need read, methinks.
   
   however, mon, de Mr. Hyde in de Mr. Paul, he be a poet of de first water, mon--de flights of he prose soar de stratosphere: descriptions of de sunsets, de trenchant perceptions about world aid to Africa, his sensa humour, mon--i like to smoke one blunt wich dis guy, mon.
   
   but he a dangerous guide; you have he cadences in your pumpkin-noggin for de LONG time. like de words of dat ticklish-pricklish friend i tell you about.
   
   you mun go read de Theroux, mon. read anyting by he. but dis be one de best of a very heavy canon.
   
   peace, mon.



4. I read this book while driving from Johannesburg to the equator and back. It was therefor very immediate for me. I normally find Paul Theroux a bit tedious but certainly not this one. His desciptions are compelling and he brings to life all the awful, sad things about Africa. I fear that this beautiful continent, with it's wonderful people will never be able to overcome their problems.



5. Consider what it is like to live with an exceptionally well-developed appreciation of your own flimsy mortality and insignificant standing in this strange and dangerous place we call the universe. Throw in a morbid and febrile imagination prone to generating 'what is the worst that can happen' scenarios, as well as a horror and fear of insects and parasites of all kinds, and you will not be surprised to learn that I prefer to do most of my travelling by book from the comfort of my favourite armchair, to the strains of my favourite ECM cds, within sight of a purring cat, or perhaps a blizzard or sunset out my front window. The authors I most like to travel with in books are Paul Bowles, Redmond O'Hanlon and Paul Theroux.
   
   Prior to 'Dark Star Safari', I had read 'The Happy Isles of Oceania', 'Riding the Iron Rooster', and 'The Pillars of Hercules', all of which I enjoyed immensely. There is so much in a Theroux travel book. As you travel through an area with the author you get levels of fascinating history, sometimes through the eyes of famous prior travellers, such as, in this book, Flaubert and Rimbaud -so you come away learning much about them that you didn't know, plus getting the benefit of the historical comparison in settings. And things certainly have changed a lot in Africa from colonial times to now.
   
   Theroux's comments about other travellers are always entertaining and frequently edifying, p.35,
   'Wealthy people too lazy to read love cruises for the anecdotal history and archeological chats, which they use to one-up their listeners in boasting bouts after they go home. The Nile cruise passenger is someone in the process of becoming a licensed bore.'
   
   I love the picky little details he will give at times about people who get on his nerves. These people would bother me too. Take these two encountered on a bus from Nelpruit, South Africa, to Maputo, Mozambique, p. 318,
   'Two Indian men in skullcaps hogged the four seats in the front row of the top level. The men had pulled off their shoes and sat cross-legged, and the pong of their cheesy feet filled the upper deck.'
   
   There is such variety is this book. Variety in mode of travel, from river cruise to dugout boat, from chicken bus to air-conditioned coach showing movies, from sheep truck to luxury train. Theroux only had to take a plane once on his entire journey, and that was because there was absolutely no other way of getting out of Sudan and continuing on his way. Some of Theroux's modes of travel go beyond risky to being frankly dangerous.
   
   This is a grim book in parts, but then Africa is a grim continent. We only have to consult the headlines, which Theroux satirizes throughout the book, headlines like -'Hundreds Drown in Ferry Disaster', 'Hundreds Die As Soldiers Riot', and that favourite signoff of grim faced cable news reporters, 'And These Are the Lucky Ones.' Today, as I write this review, the headline is 'Nine Die In Luxury Bus Crash In Egypt'. There are long-term crises, imminent crises threatening to boil over, and immediate crises calling for emergency aid. Africa doesn't seem to be working, and reading this book you get an idea of why.
   
   Theroux, with his lifetime of exotic travel experience, his top drawer literary connections, his political connections, his scholar's knowledge of history, geography and biology, and his overall drive, smarts, and lust for life, has offered up a special treat in 'Dark Star Safari', the sort of miraculous concoction I doubt that anyone else is capable of. What other book allows you to spend time with Naguib Mahfouz and Nadime Gordimer, feed hyenas at night on the outskirts of Harar, get shot at on a lawless road in Northern Kenya, visit spectacular Egyptian ruins with platoons of other tourists or alone far off in the deadly desert, debate with obnoxious evangelists (Africa is thick with them and Theroux can talk rings around them), reminisce with the Prime Minister of Uganda, take a cruise across Lake Victoria, fraternize with a myriad of wonderful, exotic wildlife, and travel the length of beautiful, dangerous Africa, top to bottom, the hard way, all the while meeting innumerable interesting characters, and hearing their stories, under impromptu, usually uncomfortable circumstances? Highly recommended.

5 comments about Morocco (Country Guide).

1. The Lonely Planet travel guides are the best!! We've been to Morocco a few time and the guide has never steered us wrong! There is no comparison to any other guide!



2. I love this books, they are the best travel guides. The book was in perfect condition and it arrived on time.



3. For a recent trip to Morocco, I bought the 2007 edition of Lonely Planet's MOROCCO guide alongside its major competitor, The Rough Guide to Morocco. While Lonely Planet's guide covers the major sights and will be just the thing for casual holiday makers, it unfortunately continues the publisher's trend of abandoning "travel as lifestyle" readers, once Lonely Planet's target demographic.
   
   If you intend on slowly working your way through the whole of Morocco, seeking contact with the locals at all cost, and traveling cheaply, then Lonely Planet guide is not really worth it. LP seems to assume that the reader is rich: it recommends expensive hotels and suggests that one hire guides. It also doesn't push people to meet ordinary Moroccans. Hammams (Turkish-style baths) are a great way to enter into local custom, but instead of listing ones patronized by the locals, LP often lists expensive spa-type locations. Morocco is also a paradise for hitchhiking, where again one is brought directly into contact with people not in the tourist trade, but LP doesn't pitch it.
   
   Comparing the LP to the Rough Guide to Morocco, the Rough Guide comes out on top. Sure, the presence of a few ads in the text, and the fact that the Rough Guide line is published by the faceless corporation Penguin, are annoying. Nonetheless, the Rough Guide caters to all audiences, both the wealthy and shoestring travelers. The Rough Guide also describes Morocco in considerably more detail than the Lonely Planet guide, gives substantial recommendations on music, books, and film from or about Morocco, and even includes a few tales by Moroccan traditional storytellers.
   
   Ahough both publishers have put out 2007 editions, the Rough Guide is more up to date than the Lonely Planet. An increasing number of travelers are heading down through Western Sahara to Mauritania and beyond. This route has gotten easier, with transportation now easy available from Dakhla. But Lonely Planet's coverage of this entire area seems to have changed little since the 2005 guide, and the authors still claim you have to provide your own transportation.
   
   I found really only two points in favour of purchasing the Lonely Planet guide. One is a large section dedicated to trekking, which the Rough Guide lacks (though here it again assumes that the readers are wealthy). The other is that LP's maps are slightly more detailed for some cities than those in the Rough Guide. All in all, if you are a wealthy traveler looking for a relaxing but exotic vacation, you can ignore all that I've written and buy LP's guide with confidence. If you are an independent traveler planning on trekking, get both the LP and the Rough Guide. But the backpacking and hitchhiking crowd can just get the Rough Guide and pass the LP by.



4. I used the Lonely Planet Morocco guidebook this past summer in 2007 for about a three week trip. I spoke no French or Arabic so needless to say I was pretty much dependent on the guidebook to give me a basic overview of the cities I visited. I really didn't have a definite itinerary so using the information from the guide I was able to make arrangements on the go. I liked how the chapters were organized and the breakdown of logistical information was really helpful. The maps in the guidebook were pretty basic and sometimes more confusing than helpful.
   I truly benefited from my use of the guidebook and without it I don't know what I would have done. However, I did have a few dislikes. First, this book is extremely heavy so I ended up ripping out pages I needed. Second, Lonely Planet devotes a good amount of pages to history and culture, which is interesting yet not always directly useful to the traveler on the road. Also, I found the descriptions of the hotels under the budget heading in Rabat and Ouzoude to be sub-par to their gushing descriptions in LP. And a negative aspect I encountered in Morocco, especially in Fes, was that hoteliers were using their exposure in LP to hawk their hotels. One place I inquired after even raised prices because they were featured in LP. The overbearing and opinioned tone of the guidebook can be off-putting as well. And, I had some of my most memorable experiences when I put aside that LP guidebook.
   LP gives a rough sketch of the cities and is a great tool in researching a place ahead of time. And does a great job in serving as a jump-off point for further exploration and adventure.



5. This book disappointed me. The info is cursory, at best. But what is profoundly disappointing is that there is basically *no* help in selecting or planning a trip. All that it amounts to is a catalog of places, with a summary about each place. If what you want is page after page of what, basically, you could get with a cursory web search, then this is your book. If what you want is a little help in picking what to do on a trip to Morocco, then buy something else, like the Rough Guide or even the excellent Fodor guide.

5 comments about Bill Bryson's African Diary.

1. This is a book, not a pamphlet. You can tell by the price. Apparently, writing a check to CARE is too complicated, so they created this 64 page pam--book, cut Amazon in for some, a publisher in for some, and send maybe a quarter to CARE.
   
   Still, the early pages of the pambophoklet contain jokes and asides, and the later pages contain more, and there are color pictures, which surely means it's a book, not a pamphlet.
   
   If you like CARE, and you're not sure what their mailing address is, can't use Google, or don't have a checkbook anyway, this is the book for you. Fortunately, unlike many books in this price range, this one is very easy to finish, and it's more entertaining than most pamphlets on Africa, which tend to be longer to boot.



2. As someone who has spent a considerable amount of time in the country of Kenya, I enjoyed reading Bryson's thoughts and comments about the sites and sounds of East Africa, many of which I have observed myself. I just would have like to have heard more. Great read for someone who has been there because the allusions and humor definitely hit home.



3. this book was short, but what can you expect when he only spends a week there? he brings the reality of africa and kenya and all of the proceeds go to CARE.



4. Loved the book, which is written with Bryson's characteristic humor. With a very detailed account of his short trip to Kenya, I could see what Bryson was seeing and feel what he was feeling all along the way. I would highly recommend the book for giving an eye-opening glimpse into the lives of people in Kenya. The proceeds from the book's sale go to CARE.



5. This book may disappoint you a bit if you are used to Bryson's other books. It contains the characteristic marks of Bryson's books, but it isn't as well done as the others. Something is missing. Maybe the brief format or more serious subject matter tempered things a bit? I don't know. Oh well, this book was done for a good cause. And I applaud that effort.

5 comments about Whatever You Do, Don't Run: True Tales of a Botswana Safari Guide.

1. I'm not a guide in Africa, but I am a tour guide at an African Wildlife Preserve, and the stories in this book parallel my own experiences in so many ways. I loved reading it, and was definately sad when it ended. Peter Allison has done an excellent job of revealing many of the dangers, both common and rare, that guides can face. While he faces more dangers than I, like lions and elephants (which we don't have where I work) I can relate so well to the other animal encounters, and interaction with guests, sometimes good and sometimes bad. His stories are told with a blatant honesty, frequently funny, and always entertaining.
   If you're looking for a unique perspective into Africa, safaris, wildlife, or just looking for a fun book to read, I can't recommend this one highly enough.



2. Just remember this is his ONLY book... so far. I am reading it like you eat expensive candy, one piece at a time. Slowly enjoying the stories in hopes that when I am done I won't have to wait to long to buy the new book. Hint hint. To tide you over Peter has a my space with some bloging going on to get you through.
   
   LOVE THIS BOOK!!!



3. Even if you are not tempted to take an African safari, this book is highly entertaining, with many laugh-out-loud moments. Each chapter is a different short story of another close call with nature. My personal favorite was the rodent invasion. This would be a good book to throw in your carry-on for reading on the plane. There was also enough substance here to entice me to investigate Botswana as a possible safari destination.



4. I LOVED this book! Peter Allison took me along on a fun, fabulous, thrilling adventure and I can't thank him enough! YES, I wish the book was longer and I wish he'd shared more of his life as a guide! Maybe he'll write another in the future. I'm still laughing a day after finishing it. His descriptions left me in stitches and sometimes, it was difficult to remember how young he was when he started. If I ever go on a safari, I promise, to Walk, Not Run.



5. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, "Whatever You Do, Don't Run". I have been to Africa numerous times on safari and the stories told by this guide were all too real, in a wonderful sort of way. Each page took me back to being on safari and allowed me to reminisce about those wonderful adventures. They gave me insight into what occurs behind the scenes for the guides and the staff at the camps and let me relive those precious memories. Parts of the book are truly funny while parts express the inherent dangers involved in such a journey. I loved this book and for those who have been fortunate enough to have gone on safari in Africa, they will enjoy it immensely.
   
   Penny Adamson

5 comments about Egypt (Eyewitness Travel Guides).

1. This book is a beauty. The photos are beautiful and the information is well presented and easy to use. I have used these books before and really like them. We have not gone on our trip yet but on other trips these guidebooks have helped us find places and sites that we probably would have missed otherwise. Well worth the price.



2. The DK editions always offers you a guide ilustrated with pictures in order to know beforehand what's are you going to see. Egypt guide has many historical summaries about the very long history of Egypt in order to climate you during your staying. It contains useful tips and road maps.
   Every point of interest is described and the most times available in photo.



3. While this book has a lot of pretty pictures, and quite a bit of information, I found the lonely planet guide to have about twice as much information on any given area, and cover more of the obscure places in Egypt.



4. I received my order, prompt and packaging was very nice.
   Great book and Thank you again.
   eloy gomez



5. 
   These guides are the very best in the business. If I'm thinking of going on a trip, I think again if there isn't an Eyewitness guide in print.
   
   EGYPT is the same high calibre as all the others I've bought over the years.