1 comments about Blue Guide Oxford & Cambridge, Sixth Edition.

1. I used this guide in 2005 and found it excellent, indispensable really. It certainly far exceeds any other guide to OxCam I've come across. And it will travel with me again.
   
   If you have the least interest in the history and architecture of the two towns, get this book! It's very helpful with both the big picture and such details as what's what in this hall or that chapel. For example, there's over three pages on Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford, with a wealth of information on when this and that was constructed and by whom. And there is an additional four pages (small print) on the rest of the college of Christ Church.
   
   The guide also has plenty of useful information such as the usual opening times at the various colleges. And there's a number of helpful maps. It does not at all neglect the logistics of touring the two towns. I think I found both my hotels from this book in 2005 and was pleased with both.
   
   I've found it tells me almost all I need to know and gives a good education on Oxford and Cambridge. Yet, the guide is small in size, 7.6 x 4.4 x 0.6 inches. I found it easy to carry around as I walked about. And you will want to carry it around.
   
   Do I need to say more? Well, yes. This guide is not easy to find in the U. S. And it can take a while for Amazon to deliver it (at least as I write this). So if you're traveling to England, order it well ahead of time. You'll be glad you did.

No comments about Lighthouses of Maine: A Guidebook and Keepsake (Lighthouse Series).

1 comments about The Rough Guide to the Lake District 4 (Rough Guide Travel Guides).

1. I used this book extensively both in preparing for a week spent in the Lake District. It proved to be very detailed and accurate, as well as very up-to-date as regards prices / website addresses, etc. I have been to the area several times in the past, and this guide really brought back all the memories and had me chomping at the bit to return. While there, I used it constantly, and not once did it provide any inaccurate information. A good guide book is essential for any trip - and this is one of the best I have ever used.

2 comments about AAA Spiral London, 5th Edition (Aaa Spiral Guides).

1. I really enjoyed reading this guide before my trip. It was full of interesting & useful information. It also has several nice pictures & illustrations. Like most other guides it is listed by neighborhood, this makes it easier to plan your stay. London is so large you don't need to go back & forth, try to see everything your planning to while your in the neighborhood. This is where it came in handy, plotting out our itinerary. Excellent chapter in the back on Practicalities, things you might not think of, temperature, clothing sizes, opening & closing hours, etc. Lots of great maps are also in the back, tube map on back cover.



2. The "AAA Spiral Guide to London" is a useful guide for planning a trip to London. The material presented is excellent and accurate, although the organization leaves something to be desired. The book breaks London into five regions, which seemed great when I began using it. Unfortunately the lines drawn between regions are sometimes poorly thought out with much flipping back and forth between sections required. This is especially true of the adjacent areas they term "St. James, Mayfair, and Piccadilly" and "Westminster and the South Bank." The book definitely works better for planning than for use while actually touring those areas.
   
   I also disliked the fact that the textual information varied between landscape and portrait format throughout the book. Another issue is that the book begins discussing an item of interest then directs you to a text box several pages away, much like newspapers frequently do; occasionally that text box directs you to yet another area. The net result of all this is that there is a lot of flipping around trying to find information that should be more logically presented.
   
   The book does have some good features, though. The spiral binding is great for use in real time while traveling, and the suggested walks and tours are generally well thought out. The information presented was accurate in my experience, and the illustrations and photographs were also quite good.
   
   Overall, I think this is a useful guidebook and contains much useful information. My only reservations stem from organizational and presentation issues, which I feel several other guidebooks do better.

1 comments about Haunted Connecticut: Ghosts And Strange Phenomena of the Constitution State (Haunted).

1. Haunted Connecticut is another in Stackpole's wonderfully entertaining series of regional books on hauntings, this time featuring the Constitution State, Connecticut. Connecticut was our nation's fifth state and with its early colonial history it boasts a very rich tradition of ghost tales. The book is written by Cheri Revai who also penned "Haunted Massachusetts" and "Haunted New York". Revai takes readers on a tour throughout Connecticut for over fifty tales that span from the era of the early settlers right through modern day.
   
   There is the "Curse of Dudley Town" where the Dudley family seemed horribly cursed by death an all manner of misfortunes including Indian attacks, suicides, epidemics, and madness and has long been the source of unexplained noises and apparitions. Union Cemetery in Eastern CT has headstones which date to the 1600's and is known most for the White Lady who appears to motorists along Route 59, even leaving a dent in the pick-up truck of a fireman who struck the specter.
   
   While we are all familiar with the Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow in New York , the town of Canton boasts its own headless ghost. It is thought to be that of a French soldier who was carrying a month's pay to French soldiers in Saratoga when he disappeared after stopping for the evening at the Hosford Tavern in 1777. When the tavern burned down a hundred years ago a headless skeleton was found leading to speculation that perhaps the tavern owner killed the soldier and stole the gold and silver.
   
   Another well known spot for ghost enthusiasts is the historic Pettibone Tavern, first built in 1780. When owner John Pettibone caught his wife in the arms of a secret lover he killed them both, cutting off his wife's head. Today, the ghost of his wife Abigail is said to haunt the Tavern which is still in use. A cold chill is felt by women in the ladies room which is where Abigail was killed and lights turn on by themselves after the tavern has been closed for the night.
   
   Revai's book also takes a look at Connecticut 's lesser known, but still haunting witch trials and takes readers on tour of other haunted, historical sites such as the Nathan Hale homestead and Old State Hall.
   
   Because of their historical significance and age, ghost stories of the New England states are always the most quaint and intriguing. Revai completes her book with an exhaustive list of book, magazine, and internet sources. Not only excellent in terms of entertainment, but Haunted Connecticut also provides valuable historical information.
   
   Reviewed by Tim Janson

1 comments about Scenic Driving New England.

1. In 320 pages and 28 scenic drives Stewart Green leaves no stone (or should I say rock) unturned in describing each drive.
   
   With this book, you'll not only get directions from one town to another along the route but everything that's in-between, and a fair dose of area history and stories. Stewart takes his role seriously in being your guide, and not just a "tour driver" regurgitating memorized facts.
   
   I'm very familiar with many of the drives he describes and confess to discovering places and information even new to me.
   
   This isn't a book to read cover to cover in one sitting. It's too dense, and the drives are much too varied as well. My suggestion is to have an idea where you'll visit and then read those scenic drives related to those areas. It'll provide insights and planning material for your trip as well.
   
   The smaller format of the book begs for it to be taken on each trip with you. Many of the pages in my copy quickly became "dog-eared" and full of sticky notes.
   
   I was a little disappointed with many of the pictures in my paperback edition. I found myself staring at photos of non-descript riverbeds with rocks. I'm sure in full color and glossy format they looked great, but in black and white on non-glossy paper many looked flat and over-indulgent.
   
   But I didn't purchase the book for the photography.
   
   If you're looking for a New England scenic drive book with all the directions and details to make sure you don't miss a thing along the way, then look no further than this book.

No comments about Guide to Sea Kayaking in Maine : The Best Day Trips and Tours from Casco Bay to Machias.

3 comments about Massachusetts Trail Guide, 8th: AMC Guide to Hiking Trails in Massachusetts (AMC Hiking Guide Series).

1. I used this guide in its last incarnation, and was thrilled to see that the new edition includes maps. And not just any maps--they're in color and have contour lines and parking and trails. With these tools I have been able to plan and hike safer, and I seem to be doing more hiking too!



2. I own the 7th edition, which includes Rhode Island in the title, and have used the book primarily in Western MA. The guide is pretty good, but certainly not on the level of the AMC White Mountains Guide. Only one of the maps (for Mt. Greylock State Reservation) is of high quality; the rest look more like sketches. Only a portion of the trails described have any maps (or sketches) at all. Less than half of the Appalachian Trail in MA is shown. All of it is described in the book, but in rather laconic (and insufficient) terms. If not for the trail signs, the description would not be sufficient to follow the trail in Chestire or Dalton. Sometimes the description is somewhat inaccurate.
   
   For AT in MA, ATC's Appalachian Trail guide with its maps is probably the way to go. However, for trails in MA overall, the AMC guide is certainly the better choice, if not the best.



3. Having moved to Massachusetts relatively recently, I haven't found this guide to be very useful. The descriptions are very bare-bones, the maps are only of small areas and there is no overall "orientation" map showing where the hikes are in the state or region overall. Plus, the hikes listed are really short! With some engineering, you can string a few together to make a longer hike, but it'd be nice if the authors would just come out and do that for you.

2 comments about London's War: A Traveler's Guide to World War II.

1. Well first off, it's TWENTY walks not eight! Either way, I can't rave enough about this book. I bought it as a Mother's Day gift, and was leafing through it waiting for the mircrowave to bing, and have now read it cover to cover TWICE: first for the little boxed tidbitty things on each page, all the human interest details, and then for the rest of it, which turned out to be ALL human interest stuff. It's written about things you'd really want to KNOW, like how people felt and how they survived and how things are pronounced, and where the bathrooms are. It made me think how much dignity Londoners had, and how brave they were. I wasn't even planning to go to London and I still found the book fascinating. I guess that'd be my only complaint, actually. Now I want to go but I can't afford to! I'm writing this review because I just signed on to amazon to buy a copy for myself (not as a gift this time!), and thought I'd spread the word. Enjoy!!



2. I took this book w/ me to London last summer and spent time on some of the walks the author suggests. I wish I had had time to do them all as I found her guidebook to be an excellent source, highly enjoyable, lots of side notes and comments, with good maps.
   
   When I returned I recommended it to a professor who was going over to teach for the fall semester. He reported that he and his wife thoroughly enjoyed it as well. So, if you're a history buff, WW II or not, you'll enjoy this guide.

3 comments about Giotto to Durer: Early Renaissance Painting in the National Gallery (National Gallery London Publications).

1. We are used to looking at "old Master" painting as if it were just a matter of style, but the truth is that Renaissance art was in important respects the product of a revolution in the use of binding media (water and egg yolk for tempera; oils) for pigments, and in the prepared surfaces (wood panels, paper, canvas) to which these pigments were applied. This wonderfully illustrated book distills the knowledge gained by the restorers of the National Gallery in London, from decades of well-documented, cutting-edge restorations of the outstanding Italian and northern European Old Master paintings in their care. It is much, much more than a technical handbook. Historical essays cover the categories of Renaissance painting, 1300 to 1500, and their many uses, while the second half of the book is an informative catalogue (with gorgeous color reproductions) of individual paintings by many of the best-known Renaissance artists (Botticelli, Jan van Eyck, Leonardo da Vinci, Albrecht Durer, to name the most obvious).



2. This is a beautiful, sumptuous book, crammed with detail and excellent colour reproductions. Other readers mightn't go for all the technical information but I can't get enough of it. I also prefer the discussions of individual works which occupy a large part of this volume -- its companion, 'Dürer to Veronese', takes a more synoptic view, which tends to obscure the fact that these are surveys of a collection.
   
   That's my only quibble, and it isn't really with the book, which is about as accomplished at it could be -- so good, in fact, that it's tempting to read it as a textbook of the whole period. Much of the material is of general relevance, of course; but don't forget that many of the major works from this period aren't in galleries at all: they're still in the places they were meant to be.



3. I'm a real art geek, and I've read a lot of books on this subject. This is one of the best. It provides a wonderful review of paintings and how they were made in Western Europe before the 16th century. This was a time of great transition in style, subject matter, and materials. This was when oil painting transitioned from an ancillary medium, believed useful for a few minor aspects of a painting, to the primary means of making visual art. This book lays it all out in ways that are accessible, yet thorough. If you are going to get one book about Renaissance painting, get this one.