1 comments about China A to Z: Everything You Need to Know to Understand Chinese Customs and Culture.

1. China is changing fast. Opening up to the West, morphing into an economic power house; ever so many foreigners continue journeying to this exotic and extraordinary destination rich in history, unique cultures, and remarkable sites. Multitudes of guidebooks published about the country today emphasize logistical details, facts, and figures, giving little heed to the nitty-gritty of culture and customs ever-so-important in a traditional society.
   
   Fortunately, May-Lee & Winberg Chai have produced a book acquainting readers with the intricate details of culture, customs, and etiquette that most travel books scantily touch. Listings from A to Z introduce readers to everything about China from current customs, contemporary and pop culture, to geography that outsiders are most likely unfamiliar with. Instructions on how to address people, the meaning of different colors used by the Chinese, attitudes toward bargaining, how to respectfully visit a Chinese home, how to avoid eating unbearable critters, proper chopstick etiquette, and the Chinese concept of "face" are all among the valued wisdom to be found in this book.
   
   Though some of the topics' practicalities and significance are questionable: The "Gay & Lesbian Culture" chapter is double the size of "The Great Wall" section. Not to mention any section that recounts the country's complex history falls short- the "History" timeline is only incidents where the Chinese have been victims in the past and I unfortunately wasn`t able to locate the whole history of the communist party which includes murdering over 30 million people, though the character of Chiang Kai-shek is repeatedly scorned and the entire account of the Civil War is often prevaricated altogether.
   
   Nevertheless, the overall aim of the book- to provide insightful, crucial knowledge for foreigners is accomplished quite effectively. The cultural "Do's & Don'ts" alone make this the perfect companion to any China travel guide.

5 comments about Japan Atlas: A Bilingual Guide.

1. You'd expect an atlas format to be large and oversized - not JAPAN ATLAS: it's the size of a regular book, which lends to easy shelving, yet it is the only one of its kind to provide place names in both English and Japanese, offering over twenty large-scale maps of Japan's various regions, 19 maps of major urban areas, and other smaller maps of roads and tourist areas. Whether it's used as a take-along tourist's tote or a library addition, it's a winner.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch



2. It's great to have maps with both Kanji and Roman alphabets. That is very useful for navigating in Japan when one doesn't read Japanese. But the maps are small and not detailed enough to be used by cyclists, which was my hope when I purchased this atlas. It does have some subway maps at the back, which are practical. I think this atlas has to be used with a more detailed Japanese-language atlas to be really useful to anyone (cyclists or drivers) interested in using roads smaller than the major highways.



3. The size was good for carrying.The words where large enough for me to read easily-I`m 65.The places that where included are good for most travel in Japan.The cover is a nice design and the train and subway map are nice to have ,so I don`t have to carry a lot of other maps.



4. I have found this atlas so useful that I have four well-worn copies, including earlier editions. Although surprisingly comprehensive, it is also small enough to carry everywhere without beginning to resent its size or weight. I have also found that the book seems nearly indestructible: no page has ever separated from the binding even with my most-used copy -- which otherwise looks like it has been through hell. Maps or atlases without kanji and kana would be frustrating to use and in many cases would be nearly worthless, yet I have found nothing similar to this volume. It appears to stand alone. Anyone travelling outside Tokyo, Osaka or Kyoto really must have this book. Someone hiking or cycling needs to also purchase detailed road maps or topographic maps of the appropriate area, although those maps will almost certainly have only kanji and kana. Fortunately, the detail maps can be found within the book department of almost any department store at any major train station.



5. Once you're in Japan, it's not easy to find a map book with ENGLISH for the whole country! This books has extra unexpected maps: Sight-seeing Maps, Tokyo metropolitan hiking map & Toyko Railway & subways; Osaka area rail & subway; same for Nagoya. ALSO: maps of Active Volcanoes, National Parks, World Heritage Sites, Special Scenic Spots, Historic Spots, Nature Parks, Traditionals Town & Villages, Ramsar areas, even Ceramic Kiln Areas! More than just a road map book.

4 comments about Silk Road: Monks, Warriors & Merchants.

1. This book is a fantastic cultural adventure and should be read by anyone interested in cross-cultural relationships. More than a topographical description of the silk road, it is a gallop though history explaining paths taken by silk to get to Europe. It starts in prehistoric china and ends with the Karakorum highway, synthetizing in twenty chapters the reasons for the often difficult diffusion of luxury products from the Far East. The author, that evidently knows well chinese history and mentality, takes us by hand into the ancient cinese political issues as to foreign commerce, the fundamental role played by Iranians, byzantines and arabs during the Middle Ages up to the wary reciprocal opening of European and Cinese worlds due to brave and curious travelers. So we meet princesses, monks and merchants and get to know their fascinanting stories. One point of force of the book is the meticulous and modern analysis of these travel tales, so we have a critical perspective of what has come down in history and makes up our cultural background. Marco Polo get's revisited and also less well known ancient and modern travelers are cited.
   Boulnois loves silk (her detailed description of materials of the old world and how they were made is enlightening)and its history, so she brings us to her country, France, and to the evolution of the silk industry in the XIX and XX century. And this somehow closes the circle of the story of this precious tissue that reached its apogeum in the last century.
   The book however is much more than this and carries a great amount of information. It could be described actually as a textbook on the history of silk. It is well written even if not too easy to read, and sometimes it is a little repetitive.
   I enjoyed it very much and feel enriched by its reading.



2. This is the book I wish I had written. I have traveled in most of these countries and studied their history and culture. I was so thrilled to see the information pulled together and the follow-through to show the outcomes of movements and trade goods. Fascinating. Loved it!!



3. This is a fascinating coverage of a area, region call it what you may. The Silk Road has been part of the adventure stories that we have come across over many years, not knowing much about it; but we have thought that one day we might just get there ourselves.
   
   Purchased with the idea that if I am going to visit this area, and I will in the not too distant future, this is the ideal book to read, savior and be intrigued with the Monks Warriors & Merchants that have gone before us.
   
   If only I could pronounce the names - but then that is another book, another read.



4. Got to me in a decent enough time and nothing was wrong with the book so i would say overall pretty good.

1 comments about Frommer's South Korea (Frommer's Complete).

1. This book was apparently issued at the beginning of summer and I bought it to used during a recently completed trip to Korea. It had some good information but I found it maddeningly sloppy in execution and extremely frustrating to use. Maps were inaccurate--for example the map of downtown Seoul shows the magnificent National Museum of Korea near the city center, but in fact it is close to the river several miles away--having been moved from the place shown on the map in 2005. (The text does describe its new location and how to get there, but the map will confuse many readers who might be interested in the museum.) Was the map simply carried over from an earlier edition without any updating? A section on a region in central Korea describes a museum (the Independence museum) in the "second largest city" in the region but the regional map doesn't show the city. (It is, however, shown on the map of all of Korea at the beginning of the book.) Areas of Seoul are described but for many of them there is no map as to where (even in general) they actually are--e.g., Itawon. Very few restaurants are listed in Seoul and for many there is no map even indicating the general area where they are located. Two cities, Incheon and Daejeon are both described as the "fourth" largest city in Korea. (I could find no "third" largest city listed.) I could easily go on. There should be a thorough re-editing of the book if it is to be a helpful guidebook and not a frustrating experience for a traveller trying to negotiate his or her way through Korea.

2 comments about Rajasthan, Delhi & Agra (Regional Guide).

1. This book offers everything you expect from a Lonely Planet travel guide - background infos you need to know about the country (Do's, Don'ts, how to get by in India on your own, etc.), sights, restaurant and hotel listings and much more for your trip to Rajasthan.
   Like most Lonely Planets, it is a bit thin on history and culture, the description of the sights is sometimes very short.
   The Delhi chapter is extensive, though.
   You get everything you expect from a LP, but if you are interested in history and Indian culture and religion, buy another book to accompany this LP on your trip.



2. If you're doing the 'typical' first time trip to India - the Golden Triangle - this is all you need - no reason to have a full guide to India since the south is completely different from the north - carrying a full guide to India if you're just going to Delhi, The Taj Mahal, and say Jaipur, is like carrying a guide to to Poland for a trip to France - I guess that's why Lonely Planet decided to publish this concise guide.
   Traveling to India takes a lot of preparation and you discover you forgot to do half the preparation you needed when you get there - this book helps full the gaps, prepare you for the shocks, gives great connection information to the often confusing and chaotic, but surprisingly pretty well ran Indian railways.
   
   It also gives you good thumbnail estimates about prices -which is essential for Western travelers as you are continuously the target of price gouging. Highly recommended.

5 comments about Crossing Boundaries: A Global Vision of Design.

1. mr wolf in his travels search for inspirations in the most unusual places: ethiopia, burma, syria - most of times acquiring local handcrafted items which he will use in his decorations. Although his palette is a bit neutral, with pastel colors most of times, his interiors are extremely beautiful, with subdued elegance and charm. Interesting is how he manages to mix the objects from his travels, with modern furniture, mirrors in abondance and white walls.



2. This book with it's exciting interior pictures captures interior design at it's best. Mr Wolf's incorpration of ethnic items makes these interiors personal and interesting. His use of color and his inclusion of Benjamin Moore color numbers is a nice feature. I very much like this book and his style. I am an interior designer also and I'm not easily impressed by most other designers work.



3. I regret that i have bought this book! It does not show anything special and the objetcive of the author of showing misery people and then show glamorous spaces is a shame!!!!



4. My wife and I plan to remodel, and bought this book for inspiration and design concepts. We ended up quite disappointed.
   
   The book has 5 chapters organized around 5 places that Mr. Wolf traveled to. Each chapter consists of two parts: travel log and design. Both parts show many colorful photographs, some of them quite beautiful. In general, the travel log part has more pages then the design part. For example, in Madagascar Scale chapter, travel log has about 24 pages vs. 18 pages for design. The pictures are even more lopsided towards the travel part. Often the relationship between the design and place seems rather superficial or contrived like a blue/yellow color scheme that is somewhat similar to an umbrella on a photograph or a light color bedroom inspired by a misty landscape. Also, Mr Wolf's design schemes are not as varied as you would expect if they were inspired from all over the world. Most of them use very similar style furniture and color schemes.
   
   Worse still is that the book does not present design concepts in any systematic fashion. It does not say much about the places that Mr. Wolf designed, what were the challenges, or how different rooms fit together. There is not a single floor plan in the whole book, and rarely it shows the same room from different angles to give the reader a feel how things fit together.
   
   Conclusion: If you are looking for a travel diary with pretty pictures, this book might be for you. If you are looking for design ideas that are of practical use, stay away. You might consider Kelly Hoppen's book ``Home'' instead. We bought it together with this one and found it packed with useful interior design concepts and really helped us to think through all the elements of designing a house or apartment.



5. This book lacks consistency, and although the pictures might be technically good, the interiors design itself has little to do with the story the author is tryng to sell to us: that he has seen certain things in his 'exciting and sophisticated'journey that inspired him to create special interiors. What we get instead is a twisted, dated, unrespectful and pasteurized concept of what other cultures could give us in our every day living. Please, don't buy it.

5 comments about Kyoto (City Guide).

1. A few years ago we discovered Lonely Planet travel guides. They have been a staple of every trip ever since. The Kyoto book was no exception.

   The major highlights of this book include:
   - Great walking tours
   - Fun listings of out of the way places
   - Interesting history and background
   - Good tips and recommendations for everything from getting around on the subway (complete with a handy map), to reliable restaurant recommendations.
   - Restaurant & place names written in Japanese in the book. Even if you don't read Japanese, this was very handy for doing symbol comparison to make sure you were in the right place.

   Lonely Planet guides are really excellent for helping you see the sights that not everyone else is seeing, and to help you get more out of the culture you are visiting. The authors have a good sense of humor and seem to aim towards a slightly more liberal and adventurous audience.

   On their own, I found both the guide and the maps very helpful (although I do agree with the other reviewers that the varied orientation and scaling of the maps could occasionally be disorienting). However, when attempting to cross reference these I often got frustrated. Many of the references to maps in the guide were just wrong (wrong map listed), and many things just weren't on the maps. Similarly, many things on the maps were difficult or impossible to locate in the guide. Example: "We need to find a restaurant near were we are right now. Oh look, here's one a block away. I wonder what type of food they have?....... Hmmm...I can't find it...." I know Lonely Planet knows how to do this effectively (see the Condensed guide to Tokyo as an example), it was just frustrating that they did not apply that knowledge to this book.




2. Where do I start? Poor maps, chaotic organization or boring writing? Or perhaps ugly, poor quality photographs (except cover which is really nice - this is the trademark feature of this honest publisher, which is only [inexpensive] as far as publishing costs are concerned, without bothering to reduce the price of the book itself).

   There are countries where Lonely Planet does a very good job (in West Africa, I would be lost without them), but oh my God how they can mess up things elsewhere! Kyoto is one of them.

   With so many good guides to Japan available (Eyewitness, Frommer, Fodor, even Rough Guide, for goodness sake), why bother with Lonely Planet? Well, probably because many readers feel that they have a spiritual affiliation with this seemingly hippy-ish, seemingly anti-Capitalist, seemingly slightly rebellious serious of guides. I can only imagine how they are laughing - this lean and mean publishing house, an efficient money-making machine, being funded by mostly a naive bunch of tree-huggers.

   If you feel good because you identify their sandal-wearing image, go and buy this book, by all means. This is only an image, a marketing tool - clever publishing people are laughing all the way to the bank. However, do not expect to have the best available travel advice. Usually LP guides are praised by those who have not read anything else.




3. I borrowed this guide from a friend and have leafed through it. I haven't decided if I want to buy it yet when I go to Kyoto later this year.
   
   What do you guys recommend as the best travel guide for Kyoto? While skimming this one, I've noticed a few of the things mentioned here like the unorganized maps and such. But are there betters one there to buy?



4. No guide is perfect, but some are better than others. In the case of Lonely Planet, some are great, others leave a bit to be desired. For whatever reason, the Kyoto guide is missing some important pieces of information that I would have wanted to see. For example, the best vegetarian restaurant in the city, and one of the few places a veggie can eat some authentic Japanese "meat" dishes (made with fake meat) is the Peace Cafe -- which is not listed in Lonely Planet though it's been around for a few years. Another example: The "japanese-only guides" at the Shigakuin Imperial Residence still holds true.... except they have a full audio guide now, recorded in English, with lots of information at most stops made by the Japanese tour.



5. My wife and I just returned from Kyoto, and unfortunately we were relying on this book as our guide. The information was, for the most part, up-to-date.. but the maps were *horrible*. I dunno if they just used maps from the 1930s, or hand drew them from memory, or what.. but you are going to get seriously lost if you rely on these things. There are almost no street names included and the walking tours often rely solely on hard-to-find landmarks.
   
   They also missed some major sights.. for example, Gion; I dunno about you, but I'm interested in seeing some of the tea houses where Geisha actually work. The guide talks about these and gives you one place to look for them. However, it totally skips one of the most beautiful tea house districts located in Maruyama Park! We stumbled on this place by complete accident, and found it to be the best place for Geisha-watching.
   
   It also appears to be an exclusive area where the really well-off clients go, and so perhaps it wasn't covered to keep down the crowds.. but that's the kind of information I *want* in a guidebook.
   
   In short we were extremely dissapointed in this guide. I don't know what would be a good substitute, but I can tell you to avoid this one.

5 comments about Frommer's Tokyo (Frommer's Complete).

1. Though I don't have my copy in front of me to verify, I seem to recall that the book actually lists the Kanji for the names of hard to find restaurants in the back section, making it easy to find restaurants without English names. I just thought I'd throw that out there so nobody was misled by the other review.

   I do agree that there is a decided lack of maps. I was able to find my way through the city but not without taking a few wrong turns. Still, I liked asking for directions. It will give you a chance to practice your Japanese.

   Frommer's: Japan IS just as comprehensive as Frommer's: Tokyo though. There's really no need to buy this book unless you're going to be spending the entirety of your trip in the capital. If you are going to Japan for anything other than business, please go someplace like Kyoto or even just a quick trip to Hakone. You won't regret it.




2. I got the 7th edition of this book and I thought it was great! I lived in Tokyo for over 7 months and I used the book all the time to get around! I would map out my destination on the subway map and follow it all the way there and back! The directions that I got for each walking tour were great...minus one little spot, the Yanaka walking tour was nice until the last stop. But other than that I thought the directions were spot on giving which exit to leave the subway and giving prices for everything. The book is kind of thick for daytime travel but all the info was great. One of the bars that I frequented, the owner saw I had pulled out the book told me of the woman who came in to verify the info. I loved it and am so glad I got it! I'm sure to take it back with me when I go back in a few months.



3. Just went to Tokyo and took this book with me. The few places they reccommend that I went to were just ok. I suggest getting a book for all of Japan as this book only covers Tokyo and there were several places or Kui in "Tokyo" that I went to that weren't even covered in the book, that were very interesting!
   
   Japan is a great place to Visit!!



4. Not a bad read. If you want some guidlines as to where to go and what to do it's a good start. I love the fact that it not only has busness names but phone numbers as well! The directions arn't that good aparently even the Japanese people have a hard time finding their way around Tokyo. It also has some Japanese words that you can learn in the back of the book. For example, Hi what's your name? and What time is it? and do you have any rooms availible? I have personally never been to Japan but with this book I think I will be more confadent. One more note, Buy the full Frommer's Japan book not the Tokyo edition. I Have both of them and the full Japan edition has the same info and tons more than the simple little Tokyo edition.



5. My daughter and I used the 9th Edition of Frommer's Tokyo on our recent trip to Japan. We found it to be well written, easy to use with very down to earth suggestions. Since neither of us had any prior knowledge of Tokyo, it was invaluable. We had a most enjoyable week, but we wouldn't have had so many wonderful experiences without this guide.

No comments about Tokyo (City Guide).

1 comments about Culture Shock! China: A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette (Culture Shock! China).

1. Cultureshock covers most if not all the content of about 3 other books I've read on traveling to china. Had I read this first I would have not made some of my initial mistakes in arranging travel.