2 comments about Let's Go Map Guide Hong Kong (2nd Ed) (Let's Go Map Guide Hong Kong).

1. The actual map is incomplete and presented in awkward segments, so it's not really useful as a map.



2. If you are planning to live in Hong Kong for the next three years do not count on this map guide to help you get around. It shows only very limited, touristy portions of the SAR. I deem it a total waste of money.

No comments about The Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf (Seas and Oceans (Austin, Tex.).).

No comments about Soul of Shangri-La: Yading in Daocheng.

No comments about Many Paths: Searching for old Tibet in new China.

1 comments about Silk Route by Rail (World Rail Guides).

1. This book provides you with the essential resources for planning a trip along the silk route (via Moscow though, which is not orginally on the silk route !) and comes with tips, hotel address (some phone numbers are outdated though) and city plans. I have used it for planning my own trip.

No comments about Where Beijing CityGuide (Where Cityguides).

5 comments about Berlitz Cantonese Chinese: Travel Pack (Berlitz Travel Packs).

1. I was extremely dissappointed in Berlitz's new series of phrasebooks. I have been collecting Berlitz phrasebooks for years in every language available, and have always found Berlitz products to be of great quality. Yet the recent changes, such as the elimination of tonal indications and textual discrepancies in the Mandarin and Cantonese series, have resulted in a poor product that will definitely weaken my loyalty. I give them credit for attempting to create a more visually appealing phrasebook. I do not, however, think that this should compromise the overall quality of the series. The use of tonal markings and the inclusion of an audio script for the cassette would greatly enhance the utility of this product. The cassette should also repeat the phrases in Cantonese so that the listener can strengthen oral and aural skills. These faults make it almost impossible to become proficient in the language as past editions have. I sincerely hope that Berlitz attempts to remedy the current situation, because there are a great deal of new phrasebooks on the market that offer both appealing and practical approaches to learning the language.



2. I can't add much to Mr. Ulrich's very on-target remarks besides my agreement. He has already mentioned the two most irksome things about the book, namely the lack of tone indicators, and the lack of correspondance between the Cantonese and the Mandarin text. Let me clarify this for those who haven't looked at the book. Each sentence is presented in both romanization and in Chinese characters. The trouble is that while the romanization is faithful to the language spoken on the tape, the Chinese characters seem to have been borrowed wholesale from (I'm guessing) the Mandarin version of their phrasebook, leaving only the loosest of semantic ties between the two. There is thus no question of using the characters to find out exactly what you are saying. It's as if the authors were actively hostile to the ambitious student.



3. Usually a great enthusiast about the Berlitz products, I can't say enough about how poor this offering is. An obvious departure from their other works, this one doesn't.



4. I received the Berlitz Cantonese Chinese Travel Pack as a gift from my parents. This phrase book and CD set is completely useless. It is extremely difficult to follow - the audio CD does not follow the lessons in the book (jumps from one phrase to another in no apparent order) and often times the written text is completely different than what is spoken on the CD. The sequence of the lessons do not make sense either - the introductory part (e.g. greetings, "my name is...") are in the BACK of the book, instead of the front. There are a lot of other mistakes in the book, but these are just the worst...



5. I would concur with the other reviewers - this phrase book and CD set is quite useless. The audio CD only has a tiny, tiny fraction of words/phrases listed in the book - maybe 200 or so. The rest you will need to figure out for yourself, that is if you can decipher the pronunciation. Astoundingly, the book goes with a Western-style pronunciation guide with no mention of rising/falling tones. For example, it lists:
   
   like ut in cut
   like ee in bee
   
   with no other indication of tone! I do speak a bit of Cantonese, and I know how important tones are for this language. So if you use this "guide" you would probably end up saying something that insults a person's mother or worse.

No comments about The Arctic Regions and Polar Discoveries during the Nineteenth Century: With an Account of the New British Exploring Expedition Fitted out in 1875, Its Objects and Prospects.

No comments about Korean Tales: Being a collection of stories translated from the Korean folk lore; together with Introductory chapters descriptive of Korea.

No comments about Buried Treasures of Chinese Turkestan (Oxford in Asia Paperbacks).