2 comments about Country Series: Castles of England, Scotland & Wales.

1. This is a great little book at a super price. Lots of quality color and black and white photos and a top notch narrative to go along with them. This book is dense enough to hold the attention of a sophisticated reader and accessible enough not to bore the casual reader.



2. In the summer of 1999 I took my son on a tour of medieval English castles. To plan the trip I looked at a number of books to decide which castles to visit. This book, written with the sponsorship of English Heritage, describes the different types of castles (e.g.-keep, walled, moated) built throughout the history of England, Scotland and Wales, including where to find the best existing examples of each type. I used the map in the book to plot the locations of these castles, and chose a dozen in London and the surrounding counties to go see. The book was of invaluable assistance--not only in making the selection, but in describing their history and most interesting features. The photography is fantastic. This book was the keystone to a once in a lifetime experience.

No comments about The Coast Road: A 3,000 Mile Journey Round the Edge of England.

No comments about Lighthouses of Cape Cod and the Islands.

No comments about Yankee Magazine's Book of Special New England Days: 101 Fairs, Festivals, and Just Plain Fun Things to Do.

No comments about New England Eyewitness Travel Guide (Eyewitness Travel Guides).

No comments about Nature Walks In Eastern Massachusetts, 2nd: Nature-rich Walks within and Hour of Boston, features the Bay Circuit.

5 comments about Maine Lighthouses: A Pictorial Guide.

1. This wonderful book is a very useful "field guide" to the lighthouses of Maine. Any visitor to the Maine coast should make a point of seeing these sentinels. Courtney Thompson's book has excellent photos, maps, and descriptions. I always take it along, actively seek out the local lighthouses, and make notes in the margins about the date I visited each location and my reaction to the light -- and the book has become a journal of my lighthouse visits.



2. This book is obviously for the enthusiast. Plenty of pictures but just as important, accurate directions on how to get there. It even identifies those no longer open to the public. I purchased it while on vacation in Maine and found it to be invaluable.



3. This book has an unbelievable amount of information for the lighthouse enthusiast. Each lighthouse of maine is given from one to three pages each, with up to 10 photos of each light, plus a map, brief history, directions how to get there, how to get a water view, etc. This is undoubtedly overkill for most people, but invaluable for the true enthusiast. My only gripe: the graphic design is uninspired, and most photos are only 2x3 or so. Perhaps fewer, larger photos would have been better.



4. I highly recommndthis book. It has some really beatiful
   photos in it of lighthouses from Maine. I would give it ten stars if I could. It's a lovely book.



5. I recently completed a vacation in Maine, and as a shameless lighthouse junkie I went in search of a book that would tell me all I needed to know as I set out on my journey. That is, where the lighthouses are, how to get there, the history behind the lights, interesting facts, and great pictures. Courtney Thompson's book provided all of that and much, much more. Well-written, beautifully constructed, amazingly informative. This book is easy enough to use that even the most casual lighthouse seeker will be satisfied, but detailed enough that individuals looking for something more substantial and in-depth will be impressed. From the history of lighthouses in general at the beginning of the book to the discussions and numerous photos of each light presented and the excellent tips on where to head to find each one throughout, the book is never less than comprehensive. It's easy to see how much effort went into the book. I had doubts when I went looking for a book that I'd find what I wanted, but this went well beyond any hopes I had. It's THE best lighthouse guide I've seen. I can't think of much I'd even do to make it better. This was my field guide as I drove through Maine, and the directions were always dead on. And not only directions, but maps, too! I knew where to turn to find the best view of the Cape Elizabeth light. Where to go to see the Cuckholds. What's that light I see as I head into Acadia? Egg Rock, of course! Okay, I know I'm gushing here, but this book is that good. So good, in fact, that I bought the companion volume for the Canadian Maritimes. If lighthouses are a passion for you, this book is an absolute must. It truly made my trip. I can't wait to go back, book in hand, and hunt down more of the lights I missed. Thank you, Courtney Thompson!!!

2 comments about James Herriot's Yorkshire Revisited.

1. Very fun stories about a country vet in England. Warm and wonderful memoirs of his life as a country vet. A must read book.



2. This book contains photos of Yorkshire in conjunction with text drawn from Herriot's books. If you are a fan of Herriot, you probably would enjoy the book. Since it is a bargain price, it might make a nice gift item as well--especially for someone who has traveled in Yorkshire. Mine came without that tell tale black "bargain stripe" on the spine.

   I found one drawback to be that the photos are not identified as to location except in the back of the book. The logic behind this is that they are supposed to evoke the atmosphere of what was said in the books (which may not have been a specific place) rather than a specific location. OK, then why put the locations in the back? Looking back there to identify the locations was cumbersome.

No comments about Moon Handbooks Coastal Maine (Moon Handbooks : Coastal Maine).

1 comments about London Perceived.

1. Forty-one years ago, V.S. Pritchett went looking for what makes London itself. He wrote this before McDonald's arrived, just before the Beatles and 007 put it on the world's pop map, just as cranes were setting out the beams for glass and steel skyscrapers. Much has happened in the interim, but what Pritchett found explains not only its past but its future. He makes neat work of reconciling the many ironies in a place that reinvents itself every so often without much of a plan, but which also hangs onto traditions, ways of being and a passion for order. This is a tour of neighborhoods, but also of centuries and the historical events and personages that have contributed to the city's enduring character. It moves seamlessly between the concrete image and the abstract idea. Pritchett's prose is crystalline, his insights spooky at times (he describes those new skyscrapers as having a "smashable impermanence" to them). The photographs by Evelyn Hofer are haunting. There will always be a London. This should be required reading for visitors to that city.