No comments about New England Lighthouses: Maine to Long Island Sound (Lighthouse Series).

1 comments about Maine Off the Beaten Path, 6th (Off the Beaten Path Series).

1. Great book. I have been traveling to Maine for vacations for years, and this guide still provided me with great new travel tips for areas I thought I knew well. I am returning to Maine again this summer, and will be using this book as my primary reference.

No comments about Bath.

No comments about Hagstrom Fairfield/Litchfield/New Haven Counties, Connecticut: Atlas.

5 comments about England as You Like It.

1. I first read this book several years ago, when it was newly published. In Susan Allen Toth I found a kindred spirit who shares many of my interests and would never, ever ask why I keep going back to England again and again! At the time I did not have a trip to England in the works, but devoured the book anyway and tucked its suggestions away for future trips.

   I have been to England three or four times since and each time I have incorporated some of Toth's ideas into my travel plans. I rented a car for the first time in 1997 (scary the first time), then this year spent two weeks driving around the Cotswolds (very successfully, and it enabled us to visit gardens and villages that we would not be able to reach by public transportation). I also rented a cottage for the first time this year, inspired by Toth's endorsement of this type of accomodation. (For those who are not ready or interested in a self-catering cottage, I recommend staying in high-quality B&Bs in areas outside London. Their rates are comparable to modest budget hotels in London, but they offer the amenities and decor of fine hotels. In contrast, small hotels--even outside London--are much more expensive.)

   This book will be loved by persons who love England, but perhaps not appreciated so much by those who can not imagine spending two or three weeks in one small country, let alone in a smaller geographical region. This is a book to read after you've had your first "sampler" trip to England, seen the tourist attractions, and can hardly wait to go back again. You will also find that the internet offers resources that were not available when the book was first published. Many of the organizations and resources referred to by Toth have websites, and publications can often be ordered online.

   I highly recommend this book for armchair travel, inspiration, and practical ideas to enhance your next trip to England. Of Toth's three books on England (all of which I have read and enjoyed), this my clear favorite.




2. I gave Susan Allen Toth's first travel memoir about Great Britain, My Love Affair with England, five stars. It was what I had hoped Ms. Joan Cornblath's "Beyond the Tower: London for Return Travellers" would be.

   This, the second book chronologically in her series of three, was a bit of a letdown after that stellar beginning, though it is still an enjoyable read if you are missing England and would like to read some affectionate reminiscences. There is a bit too much about gardens and fauna for my taste (though in a testament to the principle of "less is more" the anecdotes of the earlier book have inspired me to add some English gardens to my next itinerary). I love forests but don't necessarily want to read about them in such detail.

   There is some very good information about various British map series and suggestions for obtaining them. NB: When reading I had thought the suggestions probably out-of-date, i.e. with the opportunity to buy materials at Amazon.com.uk, but when I checked it out I didn't find very many maps available online, on Amazon at least. Perhaps that will change, or maybe they are available from the publisher online. I hope so. The editor and author may want to consider adding this information to a later edition.

   There is also good information about various options for accommodation, and the author goes a long way toward demystifying self-catering holiday rentals (reserving a furnished apartment or home).

   Her observations on souvenir shopping in British grocery stores is charming, and her suggestions on journal keeping and thumbprint travel are pragmatic.

   In the third section of the book, "Special Places", I was not totally pleased with the author's choices of which places to cover. Though I understand that she can only write about where she has actually been, many were very similar to things she had already discussed in the first book.

   A lot of useful information and a good index.




3. So far, this book is absolutely incredible. The amount of detail is a bit baffling at first, better too much than too little. It gives suggestions for how to find excellent hotels and B&B's, good maps, restaurants, there are even suggestions on packing and keeping a travel journal. We're leaving for the British Isles in a matter of days, and I've been planning for the last 9 months. It would have been so much easier if I'd had this book. I can't wait to start planning our next trip. I don't like to use travel agents because it's been my experience that unless you are paying them to plan your entire vacation, you will be far from the top of their priorities list. Also, it's so much fun to plan your own vacation. This book is invaluable.



4. What happens? Some don't get it, and others do. I agree wholeheartedly with Amazon.com's reviewers here insofar as the absolute wonder of these "essays" that are travel guides but not really the kind you would compare with a road map. This is great literature - along with its humor, savvy, sophistication and most importantly its understanding that America (albeit the beautiful) has a lot to learn from the ancient culture and art of that wonderous English Isle.



5. Having just finished Susan Allen Toth's earlier collection of essays "My Love Affair with England," I knew her travel-tastes run to gardens and rural pathways, and her writing-tastes run to lengthy descriptions of gardens and rural pathways. So I didn't have any hesitation in harvesting from "England as You Like It" a bunch of useful ideas, resources, and destinations, and then skimming over (or skipping entirely) yet more essays about gardens and paths. Other readers may well enjoy those parts of the book too -- I'm not slighting them: they seem popular enough with other reviewers. They're just not my particular cup of Twinings.
   
   What I found most memorable -- and pertinent to my own pending trip to England -- were things like the "thumbprint theory of travel," her methods for making long flights in the economy section more bearable, and her defense of the virtues of packing heavy instead of light. Her M.O. of staying in one set of lodgings for a week or two at a time, and using that as a base from which to explore nearby areas, certainly seems both more restful (as a vacation) and more worthwhile (as a means to get to know a place) than a frenetic rush from hotel to hotel as you check off one "must see" attraction after another. And her comment that the first thing she does on arrival in London is to hit a bookshop to stock up on good, detailed maps is an idea I definitely plan to appropriate.
   
   The first chapter, "How to Be Your Own Travel Agent," also had many useful ideas and recommendations for thing to look into. Since the book was published in 1995, however, many of the specifics she gives could be replaced by a red rubber stamp reading "Use the Internet!" Still, for giving a traveler enticing ideas of places to see and ways to see them, anyone England-bound could find this book worth spending a little time with.

No comments about Insight Fleximap, New England (Insight Flexi Map).

1 comments about Beacon Hill: The Life and Times of a Neighborhood.

1. A great book from the pictures to the well-written text. A nice glimpse at how Beacon Hill has evolved and thrived since its origin. Written with feeling and flows like a novel!

No comments about Northern Forest Canoe Trail: Great North Woods: New Hampshire, Connecticut River to Umbagog Lake (Northern Forest Canoe Trail).

3 comments about 25 Bicycle Tours in the Lake Champlain Region: Scenic Tours in Vermont, New York, and Quebec.

1. Part of the outstanding "Backcountry Guide" series from The Countryman Press, 25 Bicycle Tours In The Lake Champlain Region: Scenic Tours In Vermont, New York, And Quebec offers wonderfully satisfying bike hikes through New York's Adirondacks, Vermont's Green Mountains, and the scenery and charms of Quebec's historic towns and villages. Including a wide range of lodging and dining options, cyclists can explore the southern tip of the lake in Whitehall, New York, to the quaint college town of Middlebury, Vermont. The various tours range from scenic and flat 10 mile loops to adventurous 82-mile rides through the easter Adirondacks. Whether for an afternoon's pleasant exercise or a weekend of high cycling adventure, 25 Bicycle Tours In The Lake Champlain Region is an enthusiastically recommended regional guide.



2. I used this book to take a six-day bike tour from Burlington, VT to Montreal, Quebec, and I had a great trip. The author's directions are so accurate that I was able to ride all the way to Montreal without consulting a map! The author recommended hotels that are conveniently located for cyclists and chose roads and bike paths that were scenic and generally had light traffic. This book is a valuable resource for any bicycle tourist!



3. If you are looking for a book with a wide variety of interconnected tours in the Lake Champlain Region, you cannot do much better than this one! From easy juants to planning 10 days around the Lake, it is a great resource. Really looking forward to doing some bike exploring in the region.

5 comments about A Wild, Rank Place: One Year on Cape Cod.

1. David Gessner isn't your typical nature writer. Not simply content to give lip service to "birds and trees," Gessner enters the landscape as an animal, swilling and raging and chortling his way across Cape Cod with glee and guts. He isn't afraid to tackle tough material either: he receives news of his father's malignant carcinoma after, ironically, beating his own cancer successfully. In the face of such significant life issues, Gessner worries about place---his own as son and native to Cape Cod, and the strength of his writing voice in the shadow of his real and literary fathers. This book does for fathers and sons what Terry Tempest William's Refuge did for mothers and daughters. I found Gessner to be charmingly self-absorbed: he allows the reader to view him ("the thing itself") and his landscape, warts and all. And just when some might dismiss him as another Abbey-wanabee who goes about the motions of outrage for outrage's sake, Gessner shows his talent and unique writing strength: he writes movingly and memorably about his own father's death in a stunning journal section simply titled, June. The last sections of the book are a Hymn---for Gessner's father, for the place of his birth, for life. In the end, Gessner shows how grace and real beauty rise from fiercely loving ALL the parts of the world, even the ones which pain us most.



2. An inspiring narrative about a young man who survives cancer, only to watch his father be taken by the same disease. In the tradition of Beston and Thoreau, Gessner brings the Cape to life in all its seasons. But this book should not be tied to one place: readers from all over the globe will identify with Gessner, his family, and his love of home. A Wild, Rank Place is a very special book. You'll be glad you read it.



3. Mr. Gessner has created a powerful memoir of his childhood on Cape Cod, the loss of his father and his love for the harsh Cape environment that is emblematic of personal struggles Gessner has faced and, with humor and intelligence, ultimately overcome. A thoughtful and thought-provoking work from a promising young author.



4. I found this book a disappointment because the author allowed his personal issues and problems (e.g. family problems, illness, drug use) to interfere with the picture he was trying to paint. Henry Beston's THE OUTERMOST HOUSE, A YEAR OF LIFE ON THE GREAT BEACH OF CAPE COD, is much more to my liking, because of the beautiful prose and the full concentration of Mr. Beston on the topic at hand (i.e. the Cape, its history, its beauty, its wildness). I find it incongruous for this author, David Gessner, to make the effort to get in touch with nature by living out in the wilds by the ocean, and then to take the unnatural step of using drugs while doing so. It offends my senses almost as much as do the actions of people who play boomboxes at the beach while supposedly enjoying nature. I guess I like my nature natural and without the distractions of these other modern day intrusions. And I like my information and insights gleaned from my readings to be based on reality not drug induced fantasy. These personal issues (which in another context, might have been appropriately raised and interesting) seemed only to be undesired distractions in this context.



5. I had the pleasure of meeting Gessner at a bookstore he made an appearance at. I bought two of his books, "Wild Rank.." and "Return of the Osprey." I was almost unable to put down "Wild Rank." It was so moving...so touching...so brilliantly honest, I kept the pages open as I did mundane things so I could peek over occassionally and be mesmerized by his essay. The book is a mix of so many things -- there's a little "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" in his brutal honesty. Then there's a little Thoreau when he briefs us on what the marshes and the "Suet" mean to him. This book is a must read for anyone who understands or wants to understand that life on life's terms is the only way we can exist -- and one of life's terms is that we take care of the land. Another of those terms is that our parents, for whatever faults they have, shape us in ways we can neither forget nor sometimes identify. David, I'm so glad I met you -- the book has been one of those wonderful surprises in life that change you a little bit when you encounter them. Kudos!