5 comments about Great Britain (EYEWITNESS TRAVEL GUIDE).

1. I recently spent 8.5 weeks in Great Britain, and I bought this book to help me plan out my trip... places I wanted to visit, particular sights I wanted to see, etc. It was perfect! The pages are filled with pictures and valuable information, making it very appealing to read - unlike many other tour books that are simply filled with text. This book also includes maps of many cities and city centres, which I found extremely helpful in the places I visited. A great guide all around!



2. Great to look at, read, fantasize over. (Um...) No, these are a terrific concept in travel writing, and I love the entire series. Through this I was able to see sites other books just described, and I chose some places to visit in Britain strictly because after this book's angle of coverage I found them more enthralling than I'd thought I would, and so re-arranged my itinerary. And that's what the Eyewitness books are all about!



3. I purchased this guide for a Christmas guest who dreams of a trip to the British Isles. He spent most of his time with us pouring over the pictures and information, lost in travel dreams. It was a perfect gift.



4. This book is great if you're interested in touring Great Britain. It leaves nothing out that you could possibly have a question about & there are web sights for everything! Our son & daughter-in-law gave us this book for Christmas 2006 so we could familiarize oueselves with the history of the country & then decide what sights we wanted to visit. The book was invaluable to us as we toured London, & its outlaying cities, villages & countryside. It book was our constant companion. Now, other family members are planning their trip to Great Britain using the Great Britain book that we gave them as a gift! The book is also loaded with beautiful pictures & very useful maps!



5. DK's "Eyewitness Travel Guide Great Britain" is another in a terrific series of regularly-revised, comprehensive travel books. This guide is a colorful, well-arranged, and fascinating source of just the kind of detailed infromation needed to plan to a good vacation or business trip to Great Britain.
   
   "Great Britain" opens up with maps and a short history lesson, then proceeds to cover the country by region, beginning with London, the UK's great city and most frequently visited location. The guide then works its way around England, Wales, and Scotland before closing out with some practical general information on arriving in and traveling around Britain, along with suggestions for places to stay and eat.
   
   Each regional section offers a survey of the geography and suggested routes for touring. The short descriptions of the principal tourist attractions, whether castles, historic homes, museums, parks, cathedrals, or outside recreation sites, are accompanied by photographs, area or street maps, and in some cases, detailed cutaway diagrams of prominent buildings. The descriptions typically include useful details on hours of operation and telephone numbers. A visitor armed with this guide and perhaps a motoring atlas would be very adequately equipped to travel around Britain, and have no excuse for being bored.
   
   Great Britain offers an astonishing array of historic sites and beautiful landscapes. Those looking for world-class shopping and culture can surely find it in London. Those seeking outdoor recreation will find it in the Highlands of Scotland, the Peaks and Lakes Districts in England, and in mountainous Wales. Most of the country can be reached by public transportation, for those uneasy about driving on the left on Britain's extensive motorways.
   
   This guide is very highly recommended to travelors planning a trip to the British Isles. Great Britain itself is also highly recommended as a fascinating destination.

5 comments about Rick Steves' Istanbul (Rick Steves).

1. This has all the things that make Rick Steves' guides great. The clear maps, the insider tips, the historical back-story. The Authors are Rick's guides who live there, and know their city forward and back. This gives you the indispensible knowledge to make a visit to Istanbul safe and rewarding.



2. This useful guidebook is compact in size, concise in descriptions, and colorful in discoveries. Husband-and-wife authors Lale and Tankut Aran love Istanbul with such passion, enthusiastically guiding readers through the back doors, back streets, and back stories of their beloved city. They single out Turks you can track down for a chat; don't miss their picks of several Grand Bazaar shopkeepers who happily share their stories and, of course, their wares.
   
   I especially like the self-guided walking tours; museum must-sees; and money-saving transportation tips. Although I've been to Turkey six times, this little guidebook helped me rediscover Istanbul with fresh eyes and a renewed sense of appreciation for this complex, appealing country.



3. Rick Steves's guide to Istanbul had all the details that I needed. Everybody in my group was surprised about all the information that I was able to give them based on what I read in the book.



4. This Istanbul follows Rick Steve's usual formula of focusing on the main sights, providing practical information, good walking tours and useful travel tips. I have used Rick Steves guidebooks for over 7 years livng and vacationing in Europe. My only disappointment with this book was with the eating recommendations. The restaurant descriptions were not as honest as they could have been - especially for the Sultanahmet touristy area. If I am going to eat in a tourist trap I prefer to be forwarned. At one recommended $$$ fish restaurant, the Balikci Sabahattin our group of 3 adults and 3 children was subjected to snobby service and were outright scammed into ordering multiple servings of first course dishes (dishes were the same size but contained different numbers of portions) - NOT the treatment I expect from a Rick Steve's recommendation. Buy this guide for the sightseeing and the Lonely Planet Turkey guide for complementary information and restaurant recommendations.



5. I've bought the Rick Steves phrase books (which are the best, by the way) but this was my first of his guide books and, I have to say, I'm hooked. I absolutely love his list of the top sights. Not only does he rank order them from the must-see to the could-probably-miss, but he includes a very brief description of the site, the days and hours it's open (great for planning!), and the page number you can go to for more in-depth information. I put a post-it note on this page and was constantly referring back to it. There's really great information on each site you visit and my friends started out our first day in Istanbul making fun of me for always referring back to the book for the fun facts he includes. By the end of the first day there they were coming up to me asking what Rick Steves had to say about where we were at :) I love that he includes lots of budget and mid-range options. Europe isn't cheap and Rick Steves helped me stay within my budget. After using this book, I've now purchased Rick Steves Rome, Paris, and London books as well. I know they're going to be worth every penny!

5 comments about My French Life.

1. This book is delightful. I am thoroughly enjoying it and would recommend it to anyone who has or will spend time in France, particularly in Paris.



2. Bought this on an impulse. So glad I did. The photographs are excellent. It has a most unusual cover as well. A very pretty hardback coffee table book. If you enjoy reading about all things French, you will enjoy this book.



3. This book is so inspiring, I sighned up to travel to Provence in June! Amazing layout and great read, we are left appreciating the French way of life and most of all it's people.
   Congratulations to Vicki on a work well done.



4. Opened it, loved all the photos, read most of it right away. It is an engaging book with real flavor. The author gives an account of raising a family in France, it's romance and the draw of this beautiful country. This will be a book I linger through again.



5. I've always had a fascination with anything french! Oh I loved this book so much and intend to read it again and again! BEAUTIFULLY DONE! BEAUTIFUL WRITING...I hung on every beautiful word!....Photography couldn't have been more spectacular! I feel closer to France now more than ever!

2 comments about Rick Steves' Prague and The Czech Republic (Rick Steves).

1. I'm preparing to go to Prague, and the first guide book I knew that I would want to have is Rick Steve's guide. He has never let me down when I've gone on a trip. Highly recommended.



2. i AM PLANNING A TRIP TO PRAGUE, I WAS ABLE TO FIND VERY HELFULL INFORMATION. I ALSO ORDER OTHER BOOKS FROM RICK STEVENS

3 comments about Let's Go 2008 Europe (Let's Go Europe).

1. There's a lot of details on the important things you need to know when traveling. Examples include: what documents you will need in each country, transportation options and their costs, important phone #'s and some detailed maps of the larger cities. It's a good book for people who already know where they are going to but just want more information about it. There are no pictures, just black and white maps.



2. A lot of insight and tips on how to move around on a budget. I have yet to use it in the field though.



3. I love this book.... Lots of places to visit and excellent tips. Can't wait to actually use this book in Europe.

2 comments about Rick Steves' Croatia and Slovenia (Rick Steves).

1. I grew up with "Lonely Planet," taking an adventure trip almost every summer, but for my most recent vacation around ex-Yugoslavia, I decided to carefully compare what was on the market. I chose Rick Steves not only because it covered the most ground with the smallest amount of pages and weight, but also because it had the best balance of historical background, dining and lodging recommendations, and comparative evaluations of tourist sites that helped me to prioritize what to see in the few days I had available. Note that this book also has a good 70-80 pages on Bosnia and Montenegro, which are very easy to access from Southern Croatia (especially by rental car). I especially appreciated the book's comprehensive digression on how the present republics evolved out of the old Yugoslavia; Rick Steves is not only informative but remarkably balanced in his description of the Tito years and of the recent conflict between Serbia and Croatia. These issues are still on the mind of everyone you will meet out there.
   Couple of quibbles: Rick Steves seems to appeal to middle-age travelers, and his nightlife suggestions should rarely be trusted! The language section is tiny and inadequate. And the maps are approximate, carelessly drawn, and missing from some major towns. On the other hand, the Tourist Information in each town will give you detailed maps for free. So, over all, I am happy I made this choice.



2. The tone of this book is condescending. It is no where near the depth and quality of a Lonely Planet series. I would not waste the money.

5 comments about Turkey (Country Guide).

1. Come ivsit Turkey and use Lonely Planet to help you with your tour! I have lived in Turkey for a year. The Lonely Planet goes everywhere with us...it is worn and bent and highlighted and marked up and excellent. We have been completely happy with all the suggestions from LP. Here is the thing. Turkey is a fabulous country, however, there are a few things LP cannot control.
   
   1. The prices are inaccurate but that is not LPs fault. The Lira is very unstable and has had an outragous inflation rate. Also, you have to be good at bargaining to get a good rate and most of us Westerners are uncomforatble with this.
   
   2. Directions/ getting around....the majority of Turks rely on public transportation. There are VERY FEW road signs if you are driving. LPs maps are great, but unfortunately hard to follow without signs. I know people are sometimes frustrated with the bus routes...they can be inconvienent and drop off in the middle of the night, and hard to find your way around if you don't speak Turkish....again not LPs fault. Just keep asking for someone who speaks English to help you and the hospitable people of Turkey will find someone.
   
   I find LPs history background one of the best things about it. It is just enough to get you interested in seeing a place and you can supplement it by GOING to the museums. We have been 100% satisfied, but you must have realiztic expectations.



2. The proper name of the country is TURKIYE, not turkey. Why do the english speaking countries change the names of all existing countries but yet force those countries to use their own created names? for instance USA. This should not be so. If an existing country has their own name, it shouldnt be changed, therefore it's TURKIYE...........please make a note in the future



3. Im not the kind of guy that usually buys travel guides, but I was impressed with this lonely planet. It has excellent coverage and ideas for alternative trips, and this is the new version which was printer in Apr 07 (so its very upto date) worth purchasing!!



4. Reading the accommodation sections throughout the book and comparing them to the REALITY, I am getting the following impression about "how it works": a person from the Lonely Planet contacts the property and says: "Hi, I am from Lonely Planet travel guide! Would you please tell me how much your rooms are?". The property owners (especuially in Turkey!....) immediately sense a great opportunity for them (their propery is going to be listed in the worldwide travel guide! wow!) and respond to the Lonely Planet with some totally irrelevant, dirt cheap and UNTRUE rates. What happens next? The Lonely Planet prints out that garbage, in many thousand copies. How come EVERY property I contacted quoted me the prices being MULTIPLE TIMES higher, than what the newest, crisp copy of this book says?! I had especially unpleasant experience with the "prominent" Shoestring Pansion in Goreme. When I requested an explanation why the prices they quoted were multiple times higher than the ones listed in the book, our nice and friendly correspondence has abruptly ended. I have never received another word from them. So.... expect to pay for your accommodations in Turkey much more than the Lonely Planet listings and for the Lonely Planet I would wish to investigate the hotel prices in a little more professional way, before they actually give them away to the world.
   Very disappointing!



5. We just used this guide -- thankfully supplemented by others -- to travel around western Turkey, including Izmir, Selcuk and Istanbul. We found it uniformly atrocious. Lonely Planet, I think, enjoys telling you *every* available restaurant, hotel, and cultural attraction, and aggressively refuses to filter. Consequently, we ended up staying at an abysmal hotel in Izmir and eating at any number of subpar restaurants. When we switched to the Time Out guide for Istanbul, we had nothing but success. I recommend Time Out Istanbul in the highest possible terms, and DISrecommend Lonely Planet Turkey with the same intensity.

1 comments about Frommer's Ireland 2008 (Frommer's Complete).

1. I used Frommer's and Fodor's both for my recent Ireland trip. I think Frommer's had better detail about sights, for example: more accurate times when the sites were open. I usually check the book out of the library and if I really like it then I buy it. I probably used Frommer's more on my vacation.

5 comments about The Discovery of France: A Historical Geography, from the Revolution to the First World War.

1. I will not repeat the praises of the preceding reviewers with which I fully agree. This I must say: with Graham Robb I'm absorbing rather than reading. Like his Victor Hugo's biography, this book is a smooth flow of information that pumps one full. I feel satiated and richer in knowledge.



2. Robb has done more than a yeoman's job in producing this book. It's not that difficult to write a book like this to be informative, but it is hard to write one that is pleasant to read. Robb has spun out a great many anecdotes while making the information not only plausible but entertaining.
   My only regret is that he spent so much time researching a 'People' who probably will never appreciate what he has done.
   
   Like the stereotypical French Cafe Waiter (never snap your fingers and yell Garcon); the French will probably turn up their collective noses at the thought that anyone but a "true" frenchman (i.e. a Parisian) could 'know' much less write about La Belle France. Most Parisians still look at their countrymen outside of 'Le Capital' as country bumpkins and half literate imbeciles who marry their first cousins.
   
   In parts of the book (like the stories of the Cassini's I->IV), Robb mentions that there is little information about such and such. Here's hoping that he continues to write about these 'little known' areas and people so that the rest of us can be entertained while opening our eyes to more 'hidden history'. Thank you M.Robb.



3. France is more than just Paris! There seems to be little written on life in provincial France and the author has certainly filled that void with this book. Who would have thought that life in rural France was so backward compared to not only Paris, but rural life in other European countries? Peasants at this time prayed to stone fertility statues, believed in werewolves and witches and were very ignorant of life outside of their little village--and most didn't even speak French.
   
   This book is chock full of the history of cartographers, early travelers as well as daily life and thought.
   
   There was a France long before there were the French.
   
   If you're interested in French history, this is a must read.



4. Robb has generated a book which taught me much about a place I know little--France beyond Paris. The book seems a compilation of provincial lore and wisdom accumulated over several years' of bicycle travel through this country of peoples. It was generally enjoyable, but like a long uphill climb, was tiring in places. I often enjoy books in this genre, but I found this one occasionally lacking. I still recommend it, for it will open most readers' eyes to new notions, and the author is competent. I most enjoyed the section describing Cassini's mapping of France.
   
   My lack of enthusiasm may be because I did not find the book to be tightly structured, and I sometimes found myself wanting a crisper roadmap for the direction of the text. I also wanted a better roadmap of France in the illustrations, as the many localities described had me turning to my own atlas much of the time. The major theses of the book are lightly woven into the text. One mildly recurring theme is a whiff of anti-clericism. At one point the author suggested the Church had more to fear from latent paganism than the revolutionaries of 1789; I suspect the thousands of clergy who were massacred by the Republicans after seeing their churches destroyed and properties taken might come to a different conclusion.



5. Every page of this book yields unexpected and brilliant insights and sidelights into the motley collection of nationalities, languages, and races that somehow became France. The story of Bernadette of Lourdes. The creation of the "official" meter. The persecution of a particular group for a thousand years (and no, it wasn't the Jews). Add to this a smooth and witty prose style and you have a book that shouldn't be missed. It's one of those rare books about which, as Holden Caulfield would say, you feel like calling up the author after reading it.

5 comments about Living in a Foreign Language: A Memoir of Food, Wine, and Love in Italy.

1. Reading this books is like visiting Umbria in Italy vicariously. Michael Tucker's description of the country, the food, and the wine and only increase my desire to visit Italy. However, I don't think I could indulge in the food and wine as much as he does! It's also good to see that one Hollywood couple has established a good long, loving relationship. Great read if you love Italy.



2. This is a sweet, entertaining little book I thoroughly enjoyed. If you want a light read and enjoy being exceedingly envious of another's lifestyle, this is the book for you.



3. If you are at all a sensualist, particularly with regard to food, this is a must read. There are other enjoyable aspects to the book - the relationship between Mr. Tucker and his wife, reflections on friendship and celebrity, with a nod to learning to become "unfamous".
   
   But the core of the book is an epicurean approach to life. The story serves, really, as illustration of a way of seeing food, wine and even love.
   
   Nice work. I can't wait for the next book.



4. Basically this book is a diary of Michael Tucker's time in Umbria and the things they ate while they were there. While it is midly entertaining - it's definately not the best travelogue I've ever read. Also I thought author came off as condesending which was a real turn off to read.



5. Michael Tucker is a great story teller and this story will make you want to pack your bag. As with most TV actors you feel you know Tucker and his wife Jill Eikenberry (LA Law). The story of finding and remodeling an italian farm house is every traveler's dream. Tucker's description of the house, the village, and becoming part of the community is engaging. The only problem is the story ends too soon!