2 comments about Rhode Island: An Explorer's Guide, Fifth Edition (Explorer's Guides).

1. This is a great book! Every time I am stumped on a local history question I can turn to this book and find the answer painlessly. As a guide to restaurants and attractions it just can't be beat. I recommend this book to locals and visitors as a great reference source.



2. This guidebook is divided into eight sections by geographic region, with a top-level map up front and detailed maps of each location by section. The entire book is black and white, but the maps and pictures are still crystal clear. The opening chapter is an index referencing any subject one could want to find in Rhode Island, from ballooning to antiques to quahogs to yachting. I was most impressed with the "Green Spaces" section for each region, listing dozens of outdoor parks and activities available in the Ocean State. While there are certainly other more detailed outdoor guidebooks to Rhode Island, they haven't been updated recently, and this is a great overview guide to the riches of "green space" available in Little Rhody. Also included are beaches with recommendations about what outdoor activities are appropriate at each. Plus, if you want to visit historic houses, historic churches, historic mansions, or general historic sites, this is the state and the guidebook for you.
   
   For Activities, price information is noticeably missing. Perhaps detailed prices date a guidebook too much, but as a traveler, I'd like to get an idea whether this boat excursion or that historic house is within my general budget. Restaurants, on the other hand, are broken into price categories, and include terse yet informative descriptive information about the cuisine, location, and atmosphere. As a native, I'm well aware that hotels in Rhode Island are just plain more expensive than they are in other parts of the country. If you want to sleep in luxury, you can find some great direction from this guide. For a deal, I'd recommend utilizing Internet search engines. The low single-dollar-sign category in this book refers to hotels under a "mere" $95 (as of 2000).
   
   There is something to be said for compact guidebooks, and this is not one. It is a generously oversized paperback with thick pages and both large fonts and margins. This isn't a book to tuck into your extra backpack pocket when trekking around. Then again, all that extra text left the authors room to inform me that Goddard Park was man-made by two generations of owners and is cited as one of the best man-made forestry projects of all time. Now, that's a new fact to try out on my parents!

1 comments about 50 Hikes in Connecticut: Hikes and Walks from the Berkshires to the Coast, Fifth Edition.

1. I think that this book is a good beginning for anyone who enjoys hiking but doesn't know many places to go in CT. Once you get to know the different areas, this book falls short in the sense that there are many more hikes in CT than 50. This would make a nice gift for someone.

1 comments about Rand McNally New England: Highways & Interstates (Rand McNally Folded Map: States).

1. I love the Easyfinder laminated maps from Rand McNally. They are extremely durable, meaning I won't have to repurchase a map that gets torn, spilled on, or just plain worn out. Even better, I can mark my routes & destinations on them with dry erase marker, then just wipe off when no longer needed. Map detail is top notch, as you would expect from Rand McNally. 5 stars, definitely my favorite maps.

1 comments about Exploring Stone Walls: A Field Guide to New England's Stone Walls.

1. The book, Exploring Stone Walls, A Field Guide to New England's Stone Walls by Robert Thorson is split up into eleven detailed chapters. From there it is distributed into three separate sections. The first section is divided into four chapters. Thorson mainly talks about how there are many different types of life in and or around a stone wall. Many different types of organisms live here including the smallest life forms such as lichens and bacteria to large mammals such as dogs and cats. Although Thorson doesn't give much of an overview about this section, it is highly detailed fact-wise. I found this quite interesting because even if you are not an in-depth stonewall observer, than you can still have an enjoyable time watching them if you also have other interests such as ecology or if you're a naturalist. During the course of this book, there was one small segment about how he talked about artificial stone being very abundant throughout New England. I feel like this had little reference to the rest of the topics that Thorson was explaining. But there was an extremely well-developed chapter that I felt helped me overcome the very puzzling question of "How do you know whether to classify stone as a wall or a pile?" Very challenging question. Or is it? There is a simple answer to this problem. If the wall is anything less than four times long than it is wide it is a pile and vice-versa. In chapter eight of the book there is a well thought of segment about how to determine a certain wall's age. If you like to have history tied in with reading than you'll like this book. I didn't enjoy the chapter about the terrain because it was too detailed and it barely even talked about the walls. But his best chapter was chapter eleven, where he described some of his personal favorite stone walls to visit. This is even more interesting if you love to travel and explore. Overall, Thorson is a very good author and many people will benefit reading this book.

No comments about Recommended Country Inns New England, 19th (Recommended Country Inns Series).

4 comments about Private Newport: At Home and In the Garden.

1. Private Newport features page after page of gorgeous homes--those that only we mere mortals can only dream about! The photography is spectacular and I love the way the exterior of the homes and their grounds are included, as well as the amazing interiors. This is a great gift for anyone who has visited Newport or who desires to. You won't see these homes on the mansion tour as they are privately owned and not open to the public.



2. I used to live in Newport and I recognize many of the houses in this book. You will not see these private interiors and gardens any other way. The photography and writing are excellent.



3. .
   This is an exquisite look at Newport Rhode Island by Betty Barden Pardee, a contributing editor to Bon Appetit, who, with her husband is a year-around resident of Newport. Ms. Pardee takes the reader inside the mansions for a private look at the interiors and gardens of this community from a bygone era.
   
   Photographer Mick Hales, whose work has appeared in House and Garden, Vanity Fair, Architectural Digest, and Town and Country does an extraordinary job capturing the light, mood and character of Newport.
   
   Designers, decorative artists, and landscape designers will especially enjoy these pages.



4. Despite the potential of the interesting subject matter, 18 private homes and their gardens, PRIVATE NEWPORT is light on details. Author/flower-arranging judge Bettie Bearden Pardee treats it more like a cocktail party of a book with some name-dropping and a few anecdotal stories. Every property is architecturally significant with some fine furnishings and an interesting history, but do not count on much more than just small talk here. Photographer Mick Hales does a better job of presenting the substantial homes, not the so-called cottages of the Gilded Age but mansions none-the-less. All the photos are color and appear to be taken expressly for the book. In addition to an Introduction and an Index, there is a Forward by Marion Oates Charles. Best for those who already love Newport, one of the lovliest towns in the U.S.

5 comments about Cape Light: Color Photographs by Joel Meyerowitz.

1. Ansel Adams said that this book was his favorite book of color photographs (the reason I bought it, long ago). Meyerowitz's use of little contrast, incomparible colors, and unusual subject matter makes this a must MEMORIZE book for all serious photographers. If you don't go nuts over his photographs, you don't like photography as much as you thought you did.......

   john in texas




2. I first saw this book while i was looking through the photography section at the University of Guelph library. This book probably influenced my photography more than any other. Unfortunately, it also made me start doing shots with my nikon that are better suited for a large format system. The introductory interview with the photographer is possibly the most interesting discussion on the topic of light and photography. If you plan to become anything more than an amature photographer, PLEASE get this book NOW.



3. I love the pictures of my old haunt. Ptown has some of the worlds most beautiful light.



4. Having been to Cape Cod a lot of times, I'm intrigued by the nature. I read the reviews and thought the book would be special, with a focus on nature of Cap Cod. This was not the case. Most of the pictures could have been taken anywhere in the world... I'm not a professional photographer, but have to say that the compositions was not very exciting, quite boring actually.



5. I don't know what reviewer "K Raustol" (a couple reviews down)has been smoking, but this work, along with Ansel's body of B&W work is to my mind the finest large-format photography ever produced. This book is ALL about composition and capturing the subtle naunces of the changing light, and this book represents that concept better than any other published color work that I've ever seen. As another reviewer mentioned, if you're serious about photography, this book in an absolute MUST.

5 comments about London For Dummies (Dummies Travel).

1. I used this book every day when I was in London. The maps were very helpful.



2. Borrowed this from the library and found we couldn't leave home without it, had to buy it! Everything we needed to know to get ready for our stay over the pond. Taking the source with us.



3. I've not yet been to London, but I found five errors of fact. Not very encouraging when you come to a book to get reliable information! What other little surprises are there that I don't know about?
   
   It might suit an American readership, but I found the text often patronising of the British people, and quite offensive to the Royal Family. I think tact and respect are always pleasant characteristics in a visitor....
   
   My recommendation would be to stick with Lonely Planet Guides, which have served me well on several continents.



4. I did not have an up-to-date copy of Rick Steve's LONDON 2008, so I bought a copy of LONDON FOR DUMMIES, 4th Edition, at the PX of a nearby USAF base.
   
   The book, published only two years ago, noted that a particular London hotel was "chic," and had been "recently refurbished." Well, I followed the book's advice, and reserved a room at the hotel. Wel-l-l, the carpet was filthy, the curtains were grimy, and even the walls were grimy. The place was downright disgusting. Even after two years, it is doubtful that a place could go downhill that fast. Yecccch!
   
   I just ordered a new copy of Rick Steve's guide LONDON 2008. Buy it! Rick Steve's will steer you to the right place.
   
   I believe that I wasted money on the LONDON FOR DUMMIES book . . . and I ended up being the "dummy"! :-)



5. Out of 5 London travel books, used this one exclusively during a 2005 visit - it was invaluable. Much more practical (and in-depth) info. than the other guides. Bought the new copy for my trip in a few months. Also, found The London Mapguide an invaluable map reference for traveling on the Tube and getting around on foot. These 2 books are all you need.

No comments about Rand McNally Maine: Highways & Interstates (Rand McNally Folded Map: States).

2 comments about Frommer's Boston 2007 (Frommer's Complete).

1. My family and I used this guide for a two day trip to Boston in November. We used the restaurant reviews, hotel reviews, and sight reviews and had a great time. I'd buy another Fromer's again.



2. I like how Frommer's doesn't jut stick with the facts, but offers "personal opinions" of what exactly to do, where to go, when looking for something in accordance with your own interests. Along with this guide (which thankfully is very cheap when sold as Used!), I highly recommend visiting Jamaica Plain, Davis Square, and taking the Historical Trail. It was just like going back to high school when learning everything all over again...