No comments about The Treasures of Imperial Beijing (Timeless Treasures).

2 comments about Inside China.

1. This book has a very sad and depressing tone. I was anxiously waiting for it to arrive, but I was truly disappointed, even more so because it is published by National Geographic, from whom I expected something better. I should have gotten a clue just by looking at the cover picture, an intentionally blurred photo of the Shanghai skyline.
   
   The book basically depicts the ugly, "inside" (thus the title, Inside China) parts of China: turmoil, conflict, contrast, hardship and misery. With so many spectacular photos that could have illustrated China's rise, the authors chose the most mundane images, at best. Especially troubling are the numerous pictures of "bargirls", massage girls, and prostitutes. Additionally, for every photo of progress, there is another one of poverty, displacement and worker exploitation. Maybe that's the authors' artistic way to express contrast. I must have missed the point entirely.
   
   The quality of the photography is not up to par with National Geographic standards. Many night shots are grainy or blurry. The only ones I could really enjoy were the few landscapes at the beginning of the book.
   
   If you are looking for a collection of spectacular photos of China and its people, look elsewhere. I was so angry when I finished the book that I considered giving it away, but even that would be too embarassing for me. I guess I will just have to throw it away, even if that means wasting the $35 it cost me.



2. The book opens with the question: How does one get inside China? In 272 pages, Inside China, featuring an expansive collection of photographs from an equally impressive list of photographers and essays by six experts on Chinese culture, politics, history, and economy, makes an earnest attempt to capture the China that it once was, is, and will be. Much of the book is devoted to the China of today, juxtaposed between tradition and the burgeoning capitalism. Unlike most propaganda and travel brochure images that the West is more accustomed to seeing, this collection of photos takes the reader deep inside China, into the hearts, lives, insecurities, and hopes of the Chinese people. No, this is not a book about what looks exotic or alluring to the Western eyes. This book is about the Chinese people and the reality they have to confront each day, which inevitably brings the reader face to face with images of poverty, demolished villages, arid farmlands, overworked factory workers, rising skyscrapers, remnants of Communism, struggles for democracy, and the rise of nouveau riche. These are the uncensored expressions of the Chinese people, seen through the eyes of photographers and journalists who entered China not as foreigners, but as unbiased individuals who were willing to accept the Chinese people as they are.
   
   As a Chinese-American who was born in China, I feel this book presents one of the most honest and compendious portrayals of the Chinese people. Most of the subjects were captured in their work clothes, unposed, simply doing what they do everyday - living, surviving, and dreaming of a better life. These photos also attest the skills of the photographers, who have somehow made the camera invisible, bringing the reader that much closer to the subjects. In a nation that is struggling to find its own identity, the divide between the past and the future is often blurred, as represented by the symbolic blurring in the cover photo. What gives meaning and significance to the ordinary and the mundane are the shared humanity between the subjects and the onlooker and the hope that the future will bring a more beautiful day. Fittingly, the book ends with a hopeful photo in which the promises of the future and the relics of the past are intertwined. So, how does one get inside China? You leave all of your judgments and preconceptions at the border, and you look at the truth in the eye.
   
   A few personal favorites:
   - Reza's photo of a girl dancing in a circumcision ceremony in Xinjiang
   - David Butow's photo of Nanjing Road on a rainy night
   - David Butow's photo of a parade of Santas in Shanghai
   - Kenneth Jarecke's photo of a pro-democracy hunger striker
   - Benoit Aquin's photo of a crossroad in Xilinhot during a dust storm
   - Mark Leong's photo of a teenage boy standing at the edge of a pool in a fat reduction hospital
   - Mark Leong's photo of girls cleaning vegetables at a rural home
   - Michael Wolf's photo of workers' living quarters

1 comments about Where the World Does Not Follow: Buddhist China in Picture and Poem.

1. Where the World Does Not Follow combines spectacular photography of China's most remote mountains, with translations of the beautiful and simple poetry of ancient buddhist hermits who once inhabited them. The book opens anywhere to reveal Steven R. Johnson's incredible photographs matched on the facing page, with Mike O'Connor's artfully rendered translations. Each photograph and each poem in this masterful collection is among the very best I have seen, but the greater joy is how - taken together - each pair of photographs and poems creates an object of profound beauty and simplicity. Where the World Does Not Follow is as unique as it is beautiful.

No comments about Korea and Her Neighbours: A Narrative of Travel, with an Account of the Recent Vicissitudes and Present Position of the Country.

5 comments about The City Of Light.

1. This is simply one of the best books I have ever read. And it is definitely, hands down, with a doubt, the single funniest book I have ever read... though it isn't actually intended to be. Until the actual Ancona manuscript itself is made available for scrutiny, we will never know for sure if this text is authentic or a stunningly brilliant, almost cruelly sharp-witted satirical hoax. If it is the latter, it is still extremely impressive, informative and entertaining. Nearly every sentence is punctuated by the author Jacob's constant use of "May God be praised" or "May God spare me", or, for those individuals and groups he really despises: "May God strike them down" or "May God shorten their lives". I just could not stop laughing! - nor could I put the book down. Mr. Selbourne, wherever you are, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart, sir. One way or another you have given us an amazing piece of work. May God magnify and bless you, and may He extend your life! Amen, Amen, Amen!



2. In a word: BORING! This book would have been twice as good were it half as long. Selbourne has cut the end and would have done well to cut the middle as well. Jacob's incessant protestations of piety are tedious. He hypocritically condemns everyone around him for greed and self-interest but his own actions, though ostensibly high-minded, are also dictated almost solely by financial motives. For this reason his criticism of others rings hollow. His world view is remarkably narrow and parochial for someone so widely traveled. While he makes extensive observations of the conduct of others, there is no effort to appreciate their viewpoints. I am also skeptical of the provenance of this book. The social debates described have a very contemporary tenor and are relevant to our own times. If this were in fact an authenticated manuscript, this resonance would be remarkable. However, the provenance of the book is in dispute and much space is devoted to supporting its authenticity. The resolution of this issue must await examination of the original manuscript but in the meantime I am skeptical because the discussions seem too modern.



3. OK, nobody else has seen the original, so there's no way of verifying if this is a true translation or a hoax. If it is a hoax, it's a danmed good one, written so well, with lots of research to back it up, that I for one don't care.
   This is just brilliant, true or hoax, it gives a deep insight into the Jewish support network and all the opposition & prejudice that Jews had to deal with.
   It knocks Marco Polo's account into a cocked hat; incisive philosophy, intimate desriptions of mediaeval life and trade are enough to grant this a place on anyone's bookshelf, true or not.



4. I am glad to see that the (delayed) American edition of this book is now in paperback. It differs from the UK edition (which I have also reviewed) mainly by including "Remarks on The City of Light " by Wang Lianmao, in which modern Chinese scholarship is used to reply to some of the criticism directed against it by Westerners. Specialists in the history of the region find some puzzles, and probable errors made by a foreigner, but nothing to suggest a modern fraud. They seem willing to accept it as an authentic account of southern China by a foreigner, describing events shortly before the arrival of Marco Polo in the following of the Mongol (Yuan) conqueror. (Probably wisely, they do not seem to have offered an opinion on how authentic the foreigner -- an Italian Jew -- looks to them.)
   
   Curiously, Frances Wood, whose "Did Marco Polo Go to China?" argues that the Venetian merchant stayed in western Asia, and got all his information from others, who left no record of their adventures, seems to have joined in denouncing Jacob of Ancona as a fabrication, even though this must have seemed like manna from heaven for her theory. (By the way, it seems clear to me that, despite various major and minor interpolations and deletions in the manuscript tradition, Marco Polo did travel in East Asia -- so maybe I'm gullible.)
   
   I would add, from my own cursory research, that I have some problems with the supposedly convincing argument that the use of the term "mellah" for "Jewish Quarter" in Muslim lands is anachronistic. This argument depends on accepting one version of the etymology and history of the word. It is, however, less than completely certain; Roger Le Tourneau, in "Fez in the Age of the Marinides" (English translation 1961), reviewed the complicated evidence, and suggested that the consensus, including how long the word was in use and when and where it was adopted, might be wrong.
   
   From a Jewish perspective, I can accept Jacob of Ancona as a plausible figure (and perhaps more typical than Selbourne, to judge from his notes, realizes). The combination of length and literary quality in a memoir seems unusual for the period, but the translator reports omitting some sections at the end, and felicitous translation can add charm without being unfaithful. Some medieval writings *are* inordinately long -- and long-winded.
   
   Jaob's report of debates with Chinese officials leaves me wondering if both his contacts and his discussions were really on such a high level (especially with both sides using some sort of "trade speech" and translators), but self-congratulatory memoirs are not a modern invention.
   
   On the basis of Chinese reactions, I am prepared to accept the work as authentic, although not completely reliable as a record of fact (is anything?). If it is a fraud -- and only an examination of the manuscript seems likely to prove it -- its creator would surely have been better rewarded by emulating Eco's "Name of the Rose," and publishing it as historical fiction of a high order.



5. This volume starts out as a plausable enough chronicle of a Jewish merchant from Italy who travels to China and so on, but very quickly it becomes apparent that this is just the setting for a series of philosophical debates that the merchant partakes in with other groups in the "City of Light".

   It is written like no other narrative from the past I have seen and is quite long as well. Although I am no expert on that time and place, and there are none who truly are, what really makes it suspect is the fact that most of the work fails to give details of how people lived and what things were like at that time and place and instead concentrates on the dialogues that he is invited to and partakes in. And all of the matters that they discuss are those that would preoccupy the mind of a person in the late 20th Century. Which either means that people in the 13th Century had identical problems to those we have today, or that this was written by someone in the late 20th Century. He even forsees the Holocaust at one point.

   There is nothing that would secure it as authentic and many indications that this is largely a 20th Century work, enough to make it well accepted as a forgery until proven otherwise (which I never expect to happen). As for what it contains and the value of its philosophical debates, it offers nothing in the way of secure arguments, unless you already accept the Jewish religious teachings as a source of unchallenged wisdom. It also was rather long without adding much. It might have been better to publish this as a modern philosophical novel, which would have permitted it to be a better novel, without attempting to mislead scholars, that can cause trouble for years. Although I realize that from a publishing standpoint, it gets more attention to claim authenticity.

   Also, he (Selbourne) clips off the return journey, which might have been one of the only authentic parts in the book. I paid full price for this book when it was first published and I consider it was not worth it.

2 comments about Two Years in the Melting Pot.

1. Are you interested to know how a Chinese person experienced cultural shock in the US ? Then this book is a MUST. No book that I have read about the Chinese (and I have read many indeed) has touched me as profoundly as this precious glimpse into the personal feelings (rarely shared with Westerners) experienced by a gentle Chinese man during his two year stay in the Chicago area during the early 1980s. His English is excellant and his literary style very expressive and easy to read. His honesty and humor can not fail to touch the soul of the reader. I am deeply grateful to Mr. Liu for sharing his thoughts and experiences with us.



2. As of you always heard people saying America is the melting pot, or a salad bowl, well this book tells the story of a Chinese man learn what it is to be and how hard it is to adapted to another culture. As the heart broken story start with him leaving his home of his family and children are waiting for him when he get back from his educational journey. Nearing half of his life away, he have leave home many times some times even long and much more dangerous then this journey to America but everyone still strong, but the story, the author have his way of describing the sadness of leaving his home and his family.
   Liu Zongren shown a lot of honesty in himself with other, and also the humor of how the author describe the ways that he adapted to the American ways with his many questions of the cultures he barely know and soon be leaving again. As the author dealing with cultures shock you will be drawn into the book and soon you will feel that you are dealing with the culture shock with the author also, the writing of Liu is very strong and it will attract you to the book as you read along.

5 comments about Lonely Planet Taiwan.

1. Last summer, I took nearly three weeks and traveled all around Taiwan, an excursion which included three additional islands: Kinmen, Orchid Island, and Green Island. Before I left, I picked up a copy of this Lonely Planet, even though I've lived here for nearly a decade. All in all, I found it useful, and, hence, I don't really have any serious complaints about it although I might if I were new to this country.
   
   Absolutely, the volume could stand to be thicker. Taiwan is actually deceptively small; a round-island trip entails about 1000 km of transport by bus, train, what have you. And more places could have been listed in the "Places to Stay" sections. Having said that, there are loads of hotels (usually marked as such in English) in cities and towns in Taiwan and people are so friendly here (something that should become apparent to anyone relatively soon after arrival) that inquiring at a place, say, next to a recommended place that is unfortunately booked shouldn't be such a stretch. If you made it to Taiwan, you can make it into the lobby of large building marked HOTEL on a main street and ask if they have a room; really, you can. After all, a guide book is meant to guide you, not to suck all the adventure out of traveling. And it's not like this is Sudan or something.
   
   The book's maps were fine, and, well, as mentioned, the book was generally fine too. One more suggestion, though, and admittedly its a very random one: Kinmen (an island in the Taiwan Strait) is such a confusing place to drive around (all the roads look the same/it's difficult to tell which direction you are going) that the writer(s) might want to suggest picking up a compass. Actually, a compass in any Chinese city is a great idea as the roads are usually laid out along compass points. How convenient. Oh, and one more thing...
   
   Back in the good old days, Lonely Planets were much more honest in their assessments. If there was bugger all to do in a place, they would say so. Nowadays, all travel books have to hype places and hype them big, otherwise potential customers glancing through them might think, "That sounds like a dreadful country," before putting the book back on the shelf and heading off to the magazine rack. But at least with the Lonely Planet, it's easy to read between the lines. If the first listing in the "Things to See and Do" section is, say, a botanical garden, that might be a good indication that there just isn't a whole lot on offer in that particular town. Also, they provide a handful of routes and suggested itineraries at the beginning of the book. Another reviewer noted how only six hotels were listed under "Places to Stay" in Kaohsiung. 'How could that be,' the reviewer wonders, 'in Taiwan's second largest city?' If they had looked more closely, they may have noticed that Kaohsiung failed to make it into any of the prescibed routes. Nudge, nudge. Wink, wink. Never mind the mediocre reviews: The Lonely Planet Taiwan is a decent travel guide. It shouldn't be confused with a tour guide.
   
   Troy Parfitt, author



2. All of these reviews are for the previous edition. I have bought the previous editions. Has someone read this 2007 current edition? Is it improved and updated?
   
   Thanks



3. All the other reviews for this book are for the previous edition. I'm very happy with this updated Taiwan 7th edition which came out a month ago. The two writers live in Taiwan and have added an extra focus and assembled detailed information on a range of Taiwan's attractions like hot springs, mountaineering, river rafting as well as the more well-known things like eating out, temples, museums etc. that bring people to Taiwan. At the same time, the urban attractions of Taipei and more established destinations like AliShan, Taroko Gorge, Kenting beach and other areas have been updated and more obscure areas have been added since the last edition. Despite its small size and reputation as a junkyard, Taiwan has a wealth of things to see and do and this Guide, for my money, has been successful in showing how to get the most out of it.



4. For the seventh edition of their Taiwan guide Lonely Planet didn't just stick a new cover on an old book. The guide has been extensively updated and includes some new places. The east coast section has been expanded with details of many of the interesting places between Taidong and Hualian as well as the expected coverage of these two cities. There is also more detailed coverage of Taiwan's islands such as Penghu and Kinmen.
   
   There are always a few places that will get left out of any guide book. Nanzhuang and Taipingshan were two that I thought were notable for their omission. However, I don't think this is such a bad thing. It still leaves a few interesting places for the traveller to discover and adds an element of surprise. There are also a number of places listed in the book that I had never heard of but am certainly curious to visit. The Danayigu Ecological Park is one. I suggest you read the book if you want to find out more.
   
   The coverage of hiking is great and there a range of hikes covered from easy walks that take a few hours to multi-day expeditions. I like the writing style of the with its many interesting little anecdotes.
   
   There are plenty of maps, as is the standard for Lonely Planet guides. The map keys have place names written in English/Pinyin as well as Chinese characters. Names in the text also have pinyin with tone marks which should be useful for getting the pronunciation right.
   
   Overall, this is an excellent guide that would serve any traveller in Taiwan very well.



5. With international travel booming, the travel book industry churns out books like this, short on historical perspective, long on mother hen nagging, and eager to show political correctness at every turn. Worst of all is the hype. When are these people going to figure out that we buy the book because we're Going To The Country? We don't have to be Sold On The Country. Let me now join the international call for a moratorium on the following words in travel books: vibrant, boasts, awesome, enjoy, proudly.
   
   If you think I'm exaggerating about Mother Hen, just turn to page 23. There, you are advised not to leave home without tissues or tampons or shoes or clothing. It's hard to pinpoint the exact time that travel book companies got the idea that the bulk of their readership was under the age of ten, but social scientists have theorized that it was in the early eighties when many leaders of the Nanny States in the US and UK lost their jobs in government and went into publishing.
   
   Mother also wants to remind you to be "out of any river by 3pm or 4pm." (p.141) It seems "afternoon showers are a daily occurrence and rivers can become swollen very quickly. Also, be on the lookout for snakes." If you forgot to bring your shoes to Taiwan a snake could bite you on the toe, and if you traveled to Taiwan without health insurance against Mother's advice (p.354), "emergency evacuation is expensive...over US$100,000". Page 72 boasts a sermon on recycling as well as an admonition to refrain from "extensive gawking" at the aboriginal locals, who've complained that tourists "treat the locals with less respect that the locals would prefer".
   
   In addition to not venturing to Taiwan without clothing, readers should also not go there without reading the LP guide to its very end, because some of the advice given at the beginning changes by the end. For example, page 63 touts local food and drink: "Fresh fruit stands selling juices are all over Taiwan...wonderful thirst quenchers on a hot summer day. All you have to do is point (not gawk) at the fruits...and the person standing behind the counter will whiz them up in a blender for you after adding water." You might be gullible enough to fall for this seduction (clearly offered in jest) if you don't read all the way through to page 358, which sternly warns: "Avoid fresh juices--they may have been watered down."
   
   Well! Dear reader, you KNOW they have been watered down! By that local person behind the counter!
   
   But all kidding aside, Taiwan offers much more than just the fetishization of aboriginals and opportunities to protect yourself against foreign danger. A quick look at Wikipedia reveals that the aboriginal languages of Taiwan are thought by many linguists to be the source of the Austronesian language family which comprises over 1200 related languages spread over an area from Madagascar to Easter Island and from Taiwan down to New Zealand. Is it too much to ask that the makers of the LP travel guides dig up some striking vignettes or anecdotes relating to the Austronesian language family? Must we beg for fascinating information regarding the fifty years that Taiwan was a part of Japan? What about the childhood home of Wen Ho Lee, the Taiwanese American scientist who was falsely accused by the FBI of espionage? Why isn't that included in this guidebook? How about some locations of tea plantations where one could go see how it is cultivated? And considering Taiwan is less than half the size of Ireland and has an excellent circumferential railroad, wouldn't it make sense to discuss a few walking tours, which have long been acknowledged by seasoned travelers to be the best way of seeing a country? I could go on, but I've gone on enough.

5 comments about After Sorrow: An American Among the Vietnamese.

1. As a veteran of the war in Viet Nam, I can say that the thought of reading another book about the war was not appealing. Most of the books are so apologetic, jingoistic, or wrapped up in macho face-saving that they are of little use. This book was recommended by a friend who met Ms Borton in Viet Nam. He had not read her book, but was impressed by her enough to tell me about her. I found 'After Sorrow' in my Colleges library and after reading it, have since bought several copies to give to friends, mostly fellow veterans. It is an excellent book: personal and painfully revealing and very well written.I recommend it to anyone interested in that war, or the role of women in war, or anyone interested in a good book. My only complaint is the use of translated names without giving the Viet Namese original. The translated names are beautiful and lyric but I would like to know what 'Autumn' or 'River' or 'Second Harvest' are in their own language.



2. As a veteran of the war in Viet Nam, I can say that the thought of reading another book about the war was not appealing. Most of the books are so apologetic, jingoistic, or wrapped up in macho face-saving that they are of little use. This book was recommended by a friend who met Ms Borton in Han Noi, Viet Nam. He had not read her book, but was impressed by her enough to tell me about her. Unknown to my friend, I was in Quang Ngai City in 1969 when she was there (I in Air Cavalry, she with Quaker Services) and I knew of (and respected) the work of her organization from that time. I found 'After Sorrow' in my Colleges library and after reading it, have since bought several copies to give to friends, mostly fellow veterans. The reception has always been positive. It is an excellent book: personal and painfully revealing and very well written. It covers several extended visits by Ms Borton to various parts of the country over a span of some twenty years. I recommend it to anyone interested in the war, or the role of women in war, or really anyone interested in a good book. The beginning section, a visit to a village in the Mekong delta area, was particularly startling in the discussion of how effective the village women were as guerillas. My only complaint is the use of translated names without giving the Viet Namese original. The translated names are beautiful and lyric but I would like to know what 'Autumn' or 'River' or 'Second Harvest' are in their own language.



3. Lady Borton holds some strong opinions as I have noted on a recent trip to Viet Nam. In this wonderful book however she holds them in check and expresses everything in the words, experiences and thoughts of others who presumably were there. Reading this in country and in fact in the exact places cited in the book was a moving experience. Borton does not actually take a view on agent orange here although she has one. In fact emphasising that a woman's statements in the text are annecdotal and without statistical foundation is more than fair to other opinions. Nor does she promote communism but rather separates it from the nationalism which won the war for her friends who only begin to thrive when a market economy arrives. This is a wonderful story reflecting what other war participants think and feel in contrast to our own long held ideas.



4. From her experience living together with the common people, Lady Borton is able to reveal to us the main reason why the Americans failed to win the war in Vietnam. In fact, the war is already lost even before it began. Vietnamese is those special breed of people that's enormously proud of their country & should Americans have learnt about Vietnamese history, then, they would have to think twice before deciding to chip in efforts in assisting the French, & subsequently, to fight against communism. It so happened that after interviewing the common people, they were not fighting the Americans for communism but they simply wanted to win the right to enjoy their lives, to live as a free person with their own people. We also learnt of women's significant contribution towards the cause. Along the way, they lost their loved ones, & many became victims to chemical warfare conducted by the Americans. Surprisingly, many Vietnamese don't have ill-feelings against Americans because they always regarded the American Government differently from the Americans. The book also gives us a glimpse of their cultures (celebration of Tet & New Year), difference beween North & South Vietnam. To make the reading more interesting, there were pictures taken of the author with her new found friends ie. villagers, drawing of villages layouts, map of Vietnam, outline of Vietnam history, description of Vietnamese terms, relevant poems to start every & each chapters written by Vietnamese nationalists & poets. I don't find the book particularly captivating to read as it's quite long winded describing every little details about domestic chores. For those that yearn to feel the essence of villagers' life, perhaps, it's worth the while. Still, this doesn't deter the author's goal of reconciling between the States & Vietnam, & thus, the title of the book, After Sorrow.



5. this is one of the most biased, misleading books I have ever read. it reports all of the bad things that the south and the americans did, but totally ignores the atrocities committed by the north, like the 10,000 civilians killed in Hue during the 1968 VC offensive, including many who were buried alive. if the author is truly a pacifist, why are these not mentioned?

   beyond that, it tends to be repetitive and self-congradulatory.

No comments about Tibet, 4th: Tread Your Own Path (Footprint Tibet Handbook).

1 comments about The Rough Guide to Shanghai 1 (Rough Guide Travel Guides).

1. In the past I've been very happy with the Rough Guide series, having used it successfully in Japan. I like to have something other than the ubiquitous Lonely Planet so I don't show up at the same places as a hundred other tourists. However, this book may change my mind.
   
   While the content has been good and up-to-date (hard in the ever-changing China), the maps are close to useless. The problems:
   
   * No Chinese Characters! -- Cabs (and most Chinese) cannot read English nor pinyin. Try showing a cabbie in Shanghai a map from the Rough Guide and he'll politely ask you to leave his vehicle. There is a section on another page which has *some* of the most common places in Chinese, but this has limited usefulness.
   
   * No Grid! -- Open a 2-page map in the Rough Guide and try to find the dot for restaurant labelled #c. You have to scan the entire map to find it, unlikely other guides which tell you which grid-area it is in (i.e. "C-4"). Also, someone green-lighted the usage of both upper and lower case letters, so you have to figure out if the "c" you're looking at is a capital "C" or a lower-case "c". Finally, the spots are randomly placed and ordered.
   
   * Just Incorrect! -- More than once a street was incorrectly named or the restaurant/bar/hotel was not in the place the map said. Rather, it was a couple blocks away.
   
   * All Over The Place! -- Rather than have all the maps in the back or front so that it's easy to navigate, the maps are scattered all over the book. And even more troublesome, it frequently mentions a map to refer to without mentioning the page on which you can find the map.
   
   There are other issues, but these are the main ones. I'm in China right now and brought the Lonely Planet Beijing and the Rough Guide Shanghai. The LP was perfect, the RG was useless. Unfortunately, I'm stuck with it for the rest of this trip, but I won't make the same mistake again.
   
   It's clear this first version was rushed out without any Focus Group analysis on its usability.