No comments about Juneau Portrait II.

5 comments about Frommer's Cruises & Ports of Call 2005: From U.S. and Canadian Home Ports to the Caribbean, Alaska, Hawaii & More (Frommer's Complete).

1. this was a pretty good guide geared towards cruisers--only buy if you're interested on going on a big name cruise ship. port information was good for st. john, st. thomas, barbados, and aruba. the info on martinique was not good. the author described martinique's main town as cosmopolitan, people dress like paris, fort du france looks like new orleans. i don't know when he went to martinique. martinique was seedy and falling apart.



2. 
   Whether you are a seasoned cruiser and are looking for something new or have never cruised before this book is very handy. I have cruised three times but was not sure where I wanted to visit next and which cruise line I wanted to take to get me there so I borrowed Cruises & Ports of Call 2005 from the library. I spent the greater part of an afternoon studying cruise lines, ships, itineraries, and cabins. It immensely helped me choose which cruise was right for me because it went into a very detailed description of the ins and outs of each port and line out there.



3. As a person looking to take a cruise for the first time I found most of the info I was looking for in this book. It contains very detailed descriptions, especially of the various cruise lines and the type of activities, food and service that they offer. Of course, the opinions expressed are of the authors only and your taste may vary considerly. But overall they give a fairly objective assessment of the wide range of cruising experiences offered. Recommended.



4. This massive book (691 pages) manages to touch on just about every major cruise ship and port of call that there is in cruising. You get a little taste of everything.
   
   First, you get about 100 pages on the basics of cruising - how to get a good price, what to wear, how a cruise ship works. That will get you started on what a cruise trip is all about.
   
   Next, you get 300 pages on the actual cruise ships. While this seems like a ton of pages, they actually only do 1-2 page reviews of each ship in most cases. In many cases it's a review not just of that ship but of that ship class. For example if Carnival has 4 ships that are similar, you could get one review that covers all 4 ships, with small mentions of things that stand out on a given ship. Since no ship is REALLY identical to other ships, this isn't great.
   
   That being said, I really found the information given here to be FAR more valuable than in similar books. They actually review based on real information from real humans, not just copying from the cruise line's book. They tell you about "ridiculous 108 square feet" cabins. They warn you that on the Promenade deck, you're likely to have joggers running past (and peering in) your windows. They warn you which areas are noisy, they point out which lounges are usually not found by the masses and therefore are perfect places to escape from the noise.
   
   The rest of the book is a quite good write-up of the main port locations. Many people travel in to a port town and consider the port town part of their vacation. This area includes maps of the area, what to see, directions to the docks, and other information.
   
   I was a little put off by the 2005 in the title, implying that you had to buy a new book every year. On one hand you want to get a relatively new set of information - but even with this being "2005" I found errors in pricing. Obviously they can't update every single page in this every year. So it's a trade-off. Again, the book provides good guidelines but should never be taken as absolutely true.
   
   There is obviously no way that one book can cover ALL information on all towns, ships and ports!! Again, this is a sampler. You look through to find out which items appeal to you. Then you should get a full book on that ONE TOPIC. If you're going to Bermuda, don't expect this book to give you the full details. You should get a book on Bermuda.
   
   However, for what this book does, it does it very well. It takes you from the point of not knowing about cruising at all to the point of knowing what your options are and having a top-5 list to persue further. At that point it's time to go to those cruise line websites, to go the forums, and to get some books on specific ports. That will get you the detailed information you need to make your final decision, and to enjoy your cruise!



5. Cruise section is more up to date than ports of call. Very useful.

1 comments about The Alaska Almanac: Facts About Alaska, 29th Edition.

1. As a rural Alaskan in the Arctic, I think winter is a great time to publish the 29th edition of the Alaska Almanac. It can warm up even the coldest, darkest night with a mixture of facts about the 49th State, mixed in with biting barbs of wit from Mr.Whitekeys, a noted Alaskan humorist.
   
   As a resident of Barrow, I was especially interested in learning at that our small town holds the record for least snowfall in a year ---only three inches in 1935-36. I think I just shoveled that off of our two Husky doghouses last week.
   
   Also that Alaskans consume more ice cream than anywhere else in the country. You wouldn't believe the growing number of restaurants and stores selling all kinds of ice cream in Barrow these days --my favorite is soft chocolate waffle cones from Browers Cafe on the shores of the Arctic Ocean.
   
   Meanwhile, Mr. Whitekeys notes that a certain soft drink has a national toll-free number for info and complaints, and that lots of Alaskans call during the winter --no complaints, they just want someone to talk to.
   
   This is only the tip of the iceberg, as it were. Pick up a copy of the new Almanac and get ready for a warm evening of Alaska facts and fun.

No comments about History of the Central Brooks Range: Gaunt Beauty, Tenuous Life.

5 comments about The Cheechakoes.

1. This one is hard to put down! END



2. I LIVED IN ALASKA FOR FORTY YEARS, AND THIS A VERY TRUE STORY OF THE FAMILY, I WAS AQUAINTED WITH THE SON MARK SHORT AND HIS WIFE LORENE, MOUSE TO HER FRIENDS, ALSO MET BARBRA AND WAYNE, LIVED IN PETERSBURG, WHERE WAYNE WAS MAYOR AT ONE TIME, I THINK BARBARA STILL WORKS THERE AT THE TIDES IN IN THE SUMMER. GREAT READ, DON'T MISS IT, ALSO THE SECOND BOOK, THIS RAW LAND, THERE IS NOTHING LIKE IT. THE FIRST BOOK IS WHEN WAYNE'S DAD TOOK THEM TO ALASKA AS CHEECHAKOE'S, GREEN HORNS, AND THE SECOND BOOK IS WHEN WAYNE WENT SOUTH AND MARRIED BARB AND TOOK HER BACK TO ALASKA, TO BUILD HIS OWN FAMILY AND HOLDINGS. DON'T MISS THIS.



3. I have lived in Southeast Alaska for the past eight years and am still learning a great deal about this magnificient part of the world. One of the ways that I learn is by reading books about the area and particularly those of local writers who have experienced the lifestyle. The Cheechakoes and Wayne's second book, This Raw Land, are two of the best I have read. They truly give one a feeling of what it must have been like in those early years. Having grown up in rural East Texas during the same time period as the books, I found that the part I enjoyed most was comparing the experiences of Wayne and his family with those of myself and my family. While many things were similar, the books truly give one the feeling of the vastness of the area and of the frontier spirit of the people who settled it.

   These are great reads. I highly recommend them for all ages.




4. Paints a very realistic picture of what it was like to be a fisherman in Alaska. Plenty of interesting stories about the people, and the adventures the Shorts had when they first arrived and started fishing for a living.
   I bought it at a garage sale when I was 12, and I still enjoy re-reading it. I thought it had gone out of print, and wouldn't loan it to anyone for years for fear of losing it.
   The only disturbing part is that wildlife (fish, mink, bears and seals) are something to be harvested and/or cleared away for the people. Loads of animals meet their maker in this book.



5. A friend let me borrow this book to read. Great book! I will be purchasing it to add to my collection. It's Very well written and a true life story. If you enjoy history (how people lived before this day & age) or outdoors you'll enjoy this book! Would recommend for anyone around age 10 & up. Tells how they lived in a very rural area of Southeast Alaska where boat was your main way of transportation. They hunted, trapped & fished to provide food for themselves & to sell to make living. Their experiences through all this give you a very real idea of what it would have been like. I think this took place in the 1940's-1950's, but I don't remember for sure. Some of the expiences have some humor in them too. This book talks about a mailboat coming with mail & goods...there is also a book out about that specific mailboat called "In the Wake of an Alaskan Mailboat" by Dennis Sperl, also a very good book.

No comments about Frommers 500 Places to See Before They Disappear (500 Places).

No comments about Jack London's Grand North.

No comments about Brooks Range (Alaska Geographic).

1 comments about This Raw Land.

1. I would read anything that Wayne Sort wrote but this is still a very good read. It is in the same style as his other writtings and anyone who has read any of his books will enjoy this.

No comments about Kenai NWR & Chugach National Forest, Alaska Trail Map.