No comments about Cuba: Five Hundred Years of Images.

No comments about Old San Juan: Live an Adventure in a Far Off, But Not to Distant Land.

5 comments about Moon Handbooks: Dominican Republic 2 Ed.

1. I really enjoyed this book. It has lots of valuable cultural information and great research. While there are not snow capped mountains in the DR, it is a great book. Anyone looking at going to the DR to visit or live consider reading this book.



2. I'm sorry to say that after a month-long travel through the Dominican Republic, I have to agree with the previous negative reviewer, in that the book is full of inaccuracies and it seems obvious that the author didn't travel to many of the places he writes about. Also, the book seems to derive an awful lot of its material from another book on the Dominican Republic called Adventure Guide. Also, the author seemed overly scared of remote areas, especially around Haiti. It's more a book for older folk who are into golf courses and cigars, not for someone who wants to experience the country and really wander around and meet people. I usually do like the Moon series, though. Don't let this book dissuade you from the usually very competent Moon books.



3. I
   drove a car around three-quarters of the DR, using this book every
   step of the way for nearly the entire trip. But many times the author
   just wrote a lot of nonsense. Places he describes aren't anything like
   they really are, like he just asked other people to describe them and
   wrote what he heard from people who forgot a lot and gave him bad
   information. This book is no good.



4. Thank you for a great guidebook. I have traveled to the Dominican Republic a few times and am now planning another trip for next year, so I just bought the new version of this book. When I was in the Dominican before, this was the best guide I used--it's more than just basic information plugged into a guidebook format. It's kind of like reading a novel. I really liked his essay on "The Essence of the Dominican Republic" before the introduction--it gives you a real sense of what you will experience when you get there. Gaylord Dold obviously knows a great deal about the Dominican--he spends a lot of time on things like history and people, which is good if you have never been there and are interested in getting familiar with the culture instead of just traveling around. And he's really thorough with the practical stuff too and there are tons of choices of places to eat and sleep. I always use this book when deciding where to stay on my trips and have found the hotel info to be dependable. That said, I've used other books from the Moon series (Costa Rica, Ecuador) and I really like them. They're all really big on background info but also they give you a good variety of choices--not just backpacker stuff or places that are too expensive.



5. I wrote the first and second editions of Lonely Planet's guidebook to the Dominican Republic. While working on them, I traveled all over the DR. I adhered very closely to this rule: If I didn't visit a place, I didn't write about it. Period. No ifs, ands or buts. As any good guidebook writer would, I traveled with competing guidebooks to make certain I didn't overlook anything the competition reported on. If, for example, the competition mentioned a terrific restaurant on the outskirts of a remote town, I'd be sure to check it out; I simply didn't want my readers to miss out on anything, especially not something appearing in another guidebook. It was mostly an issue of pride, but I also felt people who bought my guidebook deserved the best work I could do. So I left no stone unturned. As a result, many business owners (particularly hotel owners) often told me, "You're the first guidebook writer that's ever been here." Sometimes I'd point to a "review" appearing in another guidebook. More times than not, I'd be told, "No, that person has never been here. I'd know it." I didn't doubt them then and I don't doubt them now, because it was usually in small, hard-to-reach or out-of-the-way places where this dialog occurred. Like many guidebook writers, I left the guidebook business soon after 9/11 -- when people weren't traveling and guidebook sales plummeted. In the years that followed, I moved on to bigger and better things, but I'd always meant to comment upon this book (the first edition, anyway) in a public forum. It was, quite simply, a piece of garbage. And if the first edition stank to high Heaven, why would the second edition be any better? Either you do good work, or you don't. If I got a dollar every time I read an inaccuracy in the Moon book, I'd be driving a Porsche today. I'm sure my book is off bookshelves these days. More than likely someone is working on the fifth edition of Lonely Planet's DR & Haiti. I'm not trying to boost the sales of my book; Lonely Planet doesn't pay royalties, anyway. I just thought anyone looking to purchase a good guidebook to the Dominican Republic ought to know my thoughts about this one. It did, and likely does, guidebook writers the world over a profound disservice. For legal reasons, I prefer using "Moving On" instead of my real name. But I am the real deal.

1 comments about Berlitz Virgin Islands Pocket Guide (Berlitz Pocket Guides).

1. Although this book is small, it really packs a punch. It's loaded with tons of information that will help you on your Virgin Islands trip. It's not big and bulky either, so it lessens the packing space. We used it in conjunction with Frommer's Virgin Islands and that was all that we needed for our week in paradise. If you are looking for a book of history or detailed background though, this one isn't for you.

No comments about AAA Caribbean, Central & South America: Including Antigua, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, French West Indies, Grenada, Hispaniola, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, St. Lucia, St. Martin, Tobago, Trinidad, Virgin Islands: Plus Caribbean And (Bermuda Air Charts, Hamilton Bermuda Inset Map, Old San Juan Puerto Rico Inset Map: International Series 2008, 1206309103107).

3 comments about Caribbean Ports of Call: Eastern and Southern Regions, 5th: A Guide for Today's Cruise Passengers.

1. This book was definitely the most (if not the only) practical book for my week-long cruise along Eastern Caribbean islands last week, and I took a good look at about ten of them! It provides a good balance between amount and brevity of information to make it a fast and easy read and to help you schedule your limited time on each island as best as possible, depending on your particular interests - be it shopping, sunbathing, golfing, or fishing. Not an encyclopedia on Eastern Caribbean but has just enough for a cruise passenger! A perfect five!



2. Walking tours! It has walking tours and maps of the ports and very complete information on each island listed. If you want to tour on our own, this is book for you.



3. Caribbean Ports of Call is packed with information, but missing what I am looking for. It does give good basic information regarding the different ports of call, including highlights of each area, walking tours, and a sampling of shops, restaurants, beaches, etc. Everything is rather vague, however. What I feel the book is lacking is specific information regarding excursions, shopping and off-the-beaten track destinations. Only those excursions sponsored by the cruise lines are covered. You do not need this book to find that information--it is all listed on the cruise line websites themelves! There is a single page on which private excursion companies are mentioned, but none are named. They do no comparing for you, but suggest you do the research yourself to find the best prices. The reason I purchased the book was so that I would not have to do the research. For example, St. Martin is a mecca for finding fine 14k and diamond jewelry. One watch shop, one pearl shop and two high-end jewelry shops are referred to. Additionally, it does not tell you where the shops are--are they in Marigot or Phillipsburg? You won't save any time having to figure these things out for yourself. Another example is this: my family will be visiting Martinique, St. Martin and Barbados. We want to swim with the dolphins. The book does not mention that a 15 minute ferry ride from St. Martin to Anguilla will get you a full day of dolphin discovery, swimming and lunch offered by www.shoretrips.com. I found this information simply using a seach engine. Only a signle page was devoted to Anguilla even though it is a lovely, unspoiled island and easily accessible from St. Martin. I was hoping the book would list tour and excursion companies that offer price comparisons to cruise ship offerings and better values than those offered on the ships. There are none to be found in the book. I was looking for comparisons between excursions offered by the cruise lines and those you could find through private tour companies on the island and book yourself. The shopping sections also seemed to be just briefly skimmed over. St. Martin has dozens of reputable, jewelry shops with hefty discounts off of US prices. I have personally shopped in several on earlier trips. None of these are mentioned. I think the book would be much better if it dug a little deeper and gave more specific information. What it seems to be is a summary of what you will find on any of the cruise line websites. I did not find it particularly helpful--all of the info in the book can be found using search engines, reading cruise reviews or with search engines.

2 comments about Diving and Snorkeling Guide to Palau (Lonely Planet Diving & Snorkeling Guides).

1. Like all the Pisces dive guides I've read, this one is superficial and poorly illustrated. Don't waste your money on this lightweight and useless pamphlet masquerading as a dive guide.



2. very helpful in telling me what to expect at various sites so i could decide which lens to put into my housing. Camera preparation cuts into my vacation time...and these books help get ready. So i always study them before i go. always.

No comments about Caribbean Ports of Call: Eastern and Southern Regions, 7th: A Guide for Today's Cruise Passengers (Caribbean Ports of Call: Eastern and Southern Regions).

No comments about Cuba Travel Pack (Globetrotter Travel Packs).

5 comments about Caribbean.

1. In this novel , Michener takes us throught he ages in the magnifficent Caribbean. While it may be an exaggeration to refer to the Caribbean as a microcosm of the world , it is certainly a rich and diverse and fascinating region , it's tropical beauty matched by it's vibrant and interesting people.
   Beginning on the island of Dominica , where the Arawaks, a beautiful , gentle and cultured people where displaced by the fierce and warlike Caribs , it continues through the adventures in the Caribeean of Christopeher Columbus , the great pirate admirals like Francis Drake , the struggles of the Spanish , French , British , Dutch and Engish over these islands, the cruelty of slavery , and the equally savage slave uprisings , how the turbulence of the English Civil War and the French Revolutions reached these islands , right up to the challenges of the present day , including a chapter about the Rastafari movement , and about the tyranny on Cuba of Fidel Castro , and the Cuban exile community in Miami. The book also covers a fictional island called All Saints.
   
   While slow in parts , it is overall a fascinating and entertaining read.



2. Michener at his best. Great history, believable and engaging characters. A recommended read, a new look at the caribbean.



3. I give this three out of 5 stars since 3/5 of the book is worth reading. A lot of other reviewers seem to express the same thing that I was thinking; that as the book moves towards modern day, it loses its appeal. I found the first chapters regading the Spanish Main very interesting and the chapters regarding the sugar interests, its ties to europe and america I found enlightening. Past this point however, I felt that the book took a steep nosedive. The chapter regarding the fitctitious island of All Saints, I had to skip altogether. Later, I found that the chapter regarding the Trinidad Scholar was instead about US immigration which could have been written about any foreign national attempting to gain citizenship in the US, regardless of where he was from. Finally, halfway through the Rastafarian chapter I had to give up on the book entirely which I have never done.
   After living in Trinidad for almost two years, I am quite interested in the history of the Caribbean but this book left something to be desired.



4. true michener style, it's a big one. not as good as Hawaii or The Covenant, but if you have an interest in the caribbean, this is THE historical fiction reference. the cultural melting pot of the caribbean makes for a very interesting and amazing story.



5. Before reading this book, I read Michener's Hawaii. Because Hawaii was an absolute masterpiece and my favorite novel ever, I was really excited to read Caribbean and had huge expectations. So imagine my surprise when I found the book really boring! I could hardly read it and just skimmed through much of it and finished it just to get it over with. I hear Mexico is pretty much the same. Chesapeake was ok. If you want great Michener books, read Centennial and Hawaii, especially Hawaii. But skip Caribbean. It is very long and very boring.