2 comments about The Rough Guide to Slovenia - Edition 2.

1. As a seasoned traveller, having an accurate and useful travel guide is an essential part of my kit. Recently I have grown tired of mainstream and established guides leaning more towards database listings of where to go and what to do. I want insight. I want to know about a place, its history, culture and the author's personal views. I want to feel inspired to visit a place by the writing. So it's refreshing to see that the Rough Guides still manage to maintain an acceptable balance between information and insight.
   
   The Rough Guide to Slovenia is now in its second edition and there have been many improvements. The most obvious is the new glossy cover; a full page photo with a translucent band across help to make the book much more aesthetically appealing to the eye, which is a vast improvement from the bland cover of the previous edition.
   
   The colour intro contains a useful quick reference guide to the country's highlights, and scattered throughout the book you'll also find two new colour inserts that help to give more emphasis on the two things the country is most famous for: caves and outdoor activities.
   
   More importantly though, is the content. The author manages to maintain an easygoing style which almost makes you feel like he is actually talking to you. Whilst striving to provide accurate information he is also not afraid to give blatantly honest reviews of places and accommodation. His description of a place in Bled where I have personally stayed is right on the button:
   
   "This popular lakeside place has a convivial atmosphere despite the rooms being dated and cramped."
   
   It's for this kind of honesty that people buy a travel guide. If we just wanted a simple list of places to stay and go we would ask at the tourist office, or read the brochures. But independent travellers who want to plan their own itinerary want to know what the place is really like, so they can make an informed decision as to where to go and stay.
   
   While boxed sections highlight special events or places of interest, the bulk of the information is neatly woven into sectioned paragraphs each written with a clarity and authority that is indicative of the author's thorough research and in-depth knowledge of the country. The second edition also contains more detailed maps than the previous edition and its map of the Triglav National Park is the best I've seen yet.
   
   Extremely well written and packed with accurate and useful information, the Rough Guide to Slovenia is an essential aid to anyone planning a trip to this beautiful and diverse little country.
   
   Reviewed by Ian Middleton: Travel Writer and photographer, and author of Mysterious World: Ireland.



2. I haven't traveled yet, but it helped me to prepare my route.
   The data seems to be very accurate.
   I doubled check the internet and got same information.
   
   Good summary and nice photos also

2 comments about National Geographic Traveler: Naples and Southern Italy (National Geographic Traveler).

1. This is a great book. I borrowed it from my library first and then had to have my own copy. Great glossy pictures. Great suggestions. A great buy.



2. This is an excellent bookguide of Southern Italy with so many beautiful pictures that just by looking at them, you will want to book a flight and visit it as soon as possible. It features self-guided walking tours (Old Naples) and driving tours (Amalfi Coast, Romanesque Apulia and Sila Mountains), great information and description of landmarks (history and food in Southern Italy) and the following interesting articles: Pizza and Pizzerie, Underground Naples, Vesuvius, Trulli, Cultural Crossroads and the Maffia.
   
   However, even though it features great regional maps (Amalfi Coast and Campanian Islands, Apulia, Calabria & Basilicata and Sicily & Sardinia), the only city maps included are those of Naples and Palermo. Besides, while the bookguide gives an excellent description of Naples and Campania, the chapter about Sicily and Sardinia isn't as extensive as you may wish, since it's mostly focused on the highlights rather than on the off-the-beaten-path places on both islands. The Apulia and Basilicata & Calabria chapters are very good, though. Aditionally, except for a very few places, it doesn't give you information about logistics in terms of public transportation and the lodging and restaurant section is definitely not for budget travelers (there's a section about cheap eats in Naples, though).
   
   While Lonely Planet makes up for what the National Geographic bookguides lack, I must admit that National Geographic also makes up for what the Lonely Planet bookguides lack.

1 comments about Italy by Bike: 105 Tours from the Alps to Sicily (Dolce Vita).

1. Good route descriptions for the touring cyclist. The routes are a bit short and unchallenging for the expereinced cyclist or the cyclist seeking challenging training terrain. This is a good guide, and I have not found anything better. Recommend.

No comments about Living and Working in Italy, 3rd Edition: A Survival Handbook (Living & Working in Italy).

1 comments about Fodor's Portugal, 8th Edition (Fodor's Gold Guides).

1. I have relied on Fodor's guide books many times to guide us through foreign countries (Japan, Thailand, Spain to name a few). This guide book proved to be indispensable while wandering the streets of Portugal, searching for the new landmark to see. I would have to say that Portugal is not as tourist friendly as other countries - not in terms of the people (who are very friendly), but in terms of signage that would direct us to landmarks, transportation hubs and tourist information offices.
   It would have been nice to have a detailed map of the city of Porto (which this book lacks), one of the main tourist destinations. We wandered far and long, trying to find the tourist information office so that we could have a map.
   I would also suggest getting Rick Steves' Portugal (Rick Steves). Between the two guide books, you'll have enough information to get around this beautiful country.

5 comments about As the Romans Do: An American Family's Italian Odyssey.

1. He insults his reader by assuming they have never stepped out of their trailer park long enough to now what "mozzarella" is. In short;
   I don't know how to describe how incredibly inane this book is, so I'll give you the description on inane, which explains this book better than I can...BECAUSE I KNOW I'M NOT A WRITER!
   Main Entry: inane
   Function: adjective
   1 : EMPTY, INSUBSTANTIAL
   2 : lacking significance, meaning, or point : SILLY
   synonym see INSIPID



2. Alan Epstein's As the Romas Do is a terrific book for a reader interested in Rome, since As the Romans Do makes accurate observations concerning the quirks and personalities of the citizens, streets, bars and traffic of Rome.
   
   Epstein has the skill to write clearly about observations we all make, such as: Rome has more "beauty, sensuality and creativity" than most other cities (p. 4); to visit Rome is to be surrounded by "Bernini, Borromini, and Brmanete" along with "Michelangelo, Raphael and Caravaggio" (p. 33); and Rome is a city of "anarchy", always was and always will be, "that nevertheless functions" (p. 54).
   
   I agree with Mr. Epstein that "St. Peter's is the grandest, most majestic building in Rome and perhaps in the world" (p. 60). Cardinal Ratzinger used to take daily walks around St. Peter's and I wonder if he does so now that he is the pope.
   
   Epstein's comparisons between Americans and Romans are insightful. He writes that "Americans devote energy to the accumulation and management of money" while the Romans "devote energy to looking well, eating well, [and] loving well" (p. 67). I miss Rome and Mr. Epstein reminds me why.
   
   It is so true that Roman people are funny. They prefer the activity of ironing to using a dryer (p. 151), detest dishwashers, hate to give out change from the cash registers at the stores (p. 68), and the Romans "cannot decorate a Christmas tree to save their lives" (p. 145).
   
   The scene of the humorous interactions in chapter 1 that take place in Piazza Santa Maria Liberatrice is worth the price of the book alone. And Esptein reveals some of the secrets on how Roman ladies stay so beautiful up to the age of 80 in several chapters (pp. 9, 75, 76, and 131).
   
   I notice that several reviews here are negative which is curious since Epstein's book on Rome is one of many wonderful books that help the reader appreciate the ancient city. My hunch is that the negative reviewers are probably people who love Rome and are upset that they did write a book about their views of Rome.
   
   Because Epstein is a Jew (p. 17) he misses some of the finer points of Catholic Rome, such as a lack of appreciation of the universities in Rome. The University of Rome has 40,000 students and there are 10 other universities in town. Thus, to say that Rome has "very little here in the way of new thinking" (p. 184) is an honest mistake.
   
   As the Romans Do is a delightful book that plan to read and re-read regularly since I miss Rome and appreciate Esptein's ability to highlight the uniqueness of the Eternal City.



3. The product of one man's experience, but it's always better to have your own than someone else's, isn't it? I have heard that he's a WONDERFUL and entertaining tour leader, however.



4. Had I read this book before moving to Italy, I wouldn't have believed all the details...living here now and having enjoyed this reading I find it helpful to know Italy is as I am experiencing it. A fun and entertaining book, well worth reading. Alan Epstein allows you to feel and enjoy the charms of living in Italy as an Expatriate. I highly recommend it to anyone moving here, anyone who knows someone living here, anyone curious at all about living in Italy, and wrapping this up-that should leave out...no one.



5. I just moved to Rome with zero knowledge of the city. I found the book a useful intro, but not very erudite. One of the most glaring errors is the claim that the Renaissance started in Rome. It did not, it was Florence. He also calls punks skinheads, which shows a lack of understanding of subcultures. In fact, you will get little sense of the politics or subcultures of Rome, but an obsession with woman's fashion. I think like many Americans disenchanted with their hypercapitalist homeland, anything that is not American will seem quaint and nice. As a result I find many of the observations very romanticized and generalized, and coming from a rather bourgeois perspective. For example, the claim that men don't wear tennis shoes is wrong. Still, I think this book was a better orientation than no orientation. I don't think it's fair that reviewers attacked his writing style. Yes it's simple, but for many that will be just fine.

No comments about Bologna & Emilia-Romagna, 4th (Country & Regional Guides - Cadogan).

5 comments about The Tuscan Year: Life and Food in an Italian Valley.

1. I found this book very disappointing. It could even be said to be boring. I guess I didn't read the description/reviews properly as I was expecting more of a story line, perhaps like Frances Mayes in Under the Tuscan Sun or Peter Mayle in A Year in Provence.



2. Don't expect this book to be another "Year in Provence" or travel in the Italian wilderness book. Elizabeth Romer documents the reasons the Tuscans -- and their predecessors -- eat like they do, plant like they do and live like they do. It carries us back to Roman times and tries to explain why Tuscans consider somone from the next valley to be a foreigner. A fascinating read for more than just cooks.



3. A few months ago I reviewed two books on Tuscan life and cuisine, `Ciao Italia in Tuscany' by PBS series host Mary Ann Esposito and `Simply Tuscan' by New York City restaurant chef / owner and curio shop impresario Pino Luongo. Neither book impressed me as giving a genuine picture of life in Tuscany, especially as it was before EuroAmerican homogenization took over. This book, `The Tuscan Year', Life and Food in an Italian Valley' by textile artist and Tuscan resident Elizabeth Romer is the real deal. The venue is an isolated valley in the southeastern corner of Tuscany, genuinely rural in that it is several dozen miles from the large cities of Florence and Sienna. The feeling the author gives about this lovely environment reminds me of the admittedly artificial feeling of lyric isolation from the cares of the world in the very obscure movie `The Hidden Valley' based in an isolated Swiss valley community surrounded by the ravages of the 30 years war.
   
   The major text of the book is in twelve chapters, one for each month of the year, beginning with January and ending with December. There are very few illustrations, limited to a few simple line drawings opening each chapter. The text is divided roughly equally between culinary information and recipes and non-culinary tales of the domestic, agricultural, and animal husbandry. The highest praise I can give this book is that it has a strong kinship in the style and quality of its content to Patience Gray's great culinary journal `Honey from a Weed' which I have been attempting to accurately review for over six months now.
   
   The main characters of the story are not the author and her family, but a native Tuscan family of Orlando and Silvana Cerotti "of the remote mountain area between Cortona and Castiglion Fiorentino. They have a single son and they run their estate and live their lives in a traditional manner. They do this from choice not necessity. Their lives are bounded by the land, which they use to its fullest extent, and in this way they are virtually self-sufficient. Their property is extensive, stretching over 400 hectares, and includes acres of forest and arable land, streams, vineyards, many small houses and their own imposing fattoria with its surrounding walled kitchen garden, olive groves, chapel and outbuildings."
   
   The most enheartening part of this story is the fact that the Cerotti's and their family and farm hands have been successful in maintaining a lifestyle that has the feel of dating back to the Renaissance, if not earlier. This is not a story of an agricultural estate in irreversable decline, although the family has cut back on some farm resources such as the herd of pigs. Rather than maintaining 100 swine, the family buys a pig each year and has it slaughtered and butchered by a professional travelling butcher. All the `charcuterie' is done on the premises by the butcher or the family. The hams are cured by Silvana and hung to dry in the attic. Orlando takes care of sausage making with the butcher.
   
   All the recipes are given `in context' in the month when their ingredients are in season and, where appropriate, in the liturgical season most appropriate for the dish. There are precious few culinary tips in the recipes and all are written in a narrative fashion, with no neat lists of ingredients and careful quantities, well-defined prep instructions, and numbered steps in the preparation. This is as much a book on anthropology as it is on things culinary. That is not to say the recipes cannot be made by an American suburbanite. If you have basic cooking skills and good instincts, you should have no problems with these recipes. Just be sure to read the author's notes on measuring at the end of the book. She is very much the student of Elizabeth David when it comes to weights and measures, using the proper Englishman's teaspoon, tablespoon, soup spoon, and teacup as measuring devices. The author gives some correlations of these devices to our shiny stainless steel measuring devices, but as Ms. Romer points out, Silvana used no measuring devices at all, so if I were you, I would get the lay of the land and proceed to measure things out by the seat of your pants. You will probably get a much more desirable result than if you try to exactly translate the measurements into the metric or something equally precise and irrelevant.
   
   My only reservations about the culinary contents of the book are in the recipes for brodo (stock) and in the absence of a recipe for the salt-free Tuscan bread. The brodo recipe calls for boiling the stock for three hours, which violates absolutely every single stock recipe I have ever read, in that stock ingredients are to be just brought to the edge of a boil, then simmered. Also, the rationale for the saltless Tuscan bread is given in great detail, but there is no recipe for same, and, I suspect you may have a very hard time finding true saltless bread in an American suburb. My local megamart carries a Tuscan loaf, but I will bet more than a few lire (or euros) on the fact that salt was used in the recipe.
   
   This book is first and foremost a delight to read. At the same time it is a valuable scholarly source document for a lifestyle which seems to be disappearing from around the world. Grab onto it and savor it while you can.
   
   Highly recommended to readers and cooks alike.



4. Life and Food in an Italian Valley (subtitle) is a memoir, cookbook and record of a Tuscan farm family. I found the book to be a better read than Mayes' "Under the Tuscan Sun" for it gives a more comprehensive look at daily family life rather than one person's experiences. The tweleve chapters--January through December--provide the reader a glimspe of the monthly activities of the Cerotti estate offering a look at their lives including their food, work, family and celebrations. Romer gave me a sense of being a part of the Cerotti household for I became engaged with them as if I were a family member. Sitting at Silvana's kitchen table allowed me to learn much about traditional Tuscan food which has been handed down from one generation to the next.



5. Elizabeth Romer chronicles a year in Tuscany. As someone who lived in Italy and even honeymooned in Tuscany, I looked forward to this book. I wasn't really sure what it was. Part cook book and part story of a year in Tuscany, I felt it lacked focus. More importantly, it lacked romance. Her characters seemed distant, almost cardboard figures. I wasn't drawn into their lives. Say what you will about Frances Mayes, but her book brought alive the magic of Tuscany.

5 comments about Haiti in Focus: A Guide to the People, Politics, and Culture (In Focus Guides).

1. Sometimes it's hard to be an American, and to look out at what we've done to the rest of the world.

   Haiti will soon be celebrating its bicentennial of independence. As the second-oldest nation in the Western Hemisphere and the black nation with the longest uninterrupted history, it should by rights be rich, educated, forward thinking, and a bright light for the rest of the world. However, imperialist forces from abroad, including France, Britain, and most recently the United States of America, have colored its two centuries. Its people have been harangued by Castro's Cuba, Trujillo's Dominican Republic, Bush and Clinton's USA, and even the wildly corrupt Duvalier administration. Its land is stripped, its resources have been plundered, its cities are grossly overpopulated, and its seas are silted. And yet, somehow, Haiti survives.

   In the wake of the 1991 coup that unseated President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and the 1994 US-led UN invasion that restored him to power, much news was made. Haiti was front-page headliner material nearly every day, a prestigious international hot spot. Names were made and broken in political spheres around the Haiti issue. Debate ran high. And then everything just disappeared. Haiti merited a two-paragraph mention on page twelve if the paper needed filler, and then only in large papers that could dedicate themselves to foreign affairs. For most of us, even those of us who maintained our religious interest in the nation, an entire nation may just as well have dropped off the face of the earth.

   British activist Charles Arthur, whose other works on Haiti include "A Haitian Anthology: Libète," identifies himself as a "Solidarity Activist." His latest book, "Haiti in Focus," is subtitled "A Guide to the People, Politics, and Culture," and it lives up to that description admirably. For those interested, the available information is brought up to date through the middle of 2001. Arthur details the current political struggles surrounding the election of Aristide to another term in office; he lets us know about the struggle between Protestant missionaries and vodou adherents for control of the site at which the Haitian Revolution began; and he even gives us pointers on how to tour the country.

   This slim, easy-to-read book is deceptively clear. It focuses on what Haiti is today, and on the forces that have made it so. Arthur posits no blame for what's happened to the country; yet observant reading serves to point out several recurrent patterns. Currently, the United States has been trying to micromanage the Haitian economy to the advantage of America, and indeed has been using the Monroe Doctrine as an excuse to do so for some time. This has been happening in force through the last century, though it can be traced overtly to 1862, when the US recognized the country's sovereignty, and more covertly back to Haitian independence, when the US refused to recognize a free black nation.

   America is not alone in this treatment, however. Britain immediately recognized Haiti's independence, but apparently only for political advantage and access to the profitable plantations. When the plantation economy went the way of all flesh, Britain appears to have just walked away. France held recognition for ransom, offering it only when Haiti paid massive war indemnities that left the country in financial ruin from which it hasn't fully recovered. The United Nations and the Organization of American States have consistently tried to co-opt Haiti's foreign policy and dictate domestic positions, and the European Union, primarily under pressure from France, is now trying to horn in on Haitian self-determination. As Arthur explains, Haiti remains a small force, battered on all sides by winds it cannot satisfactorily resist.

   The country is also riven internally. Though all involved want the country to flourish and thrive, wildly dissimilar ideas persist as to what would make this happen. Christian missionaries, primarily Catholic and Evangelical Protestant, have brought their faith to the country, but even Jesus Himself hasn't preserved the country. Aristide and his coalition have concrete ideas for how to use the government to resolve problems, but his plans are controversial and have stirred up strong negative feelings. Education is usually severely inadequate because of the lack of skilled teachers, disagreements over the importance of French, and the high cost of schooling in a poor nation. Meanwhile, poverty is swelling, illiteracy remains rampant, and nothing is being done about it.

   However, in Arthur's estimation, Haiti remains a culturally vibrant land, a noble nation resisting the homogeneity of Western-styled "globalization." The native art, music, and religion of the land are the most African in the Western Hemisphere, and are a celebration of life in the face of poverty. A full-color photo spread in the middle of the book shows the beauty that accrues to everything in the country-the way a tap-tap driver will paint rainbows on the side of his vehicle; the way rara musicians will dance down the street during a festival. Though this is a country damaged and struggling, Arthur makes plain, this is not a country to give up on, not a country to permit to die.

   This book is detailed enough to appeal to those intimately interested in Haiti, either those who appreciate the whole nation or those interested in one or two aspects. At the same time, it's clear enough in style and structure to reach out to readers who are being newly introduced to Haiti, and to those who know only the horror stories that recur in motion pictures and the news. Though it will date quickly, for the moment it stands as a strong primer for the condition that is Haiti and a land working for healing in a world that only wants to use it as a tool.




2. You'll be fascinated, impressed, depressed, and delighted with Arthur's succinct introduction to the people, culture, and history of a small nation so very close to U.S. shores and U.S. history, yet so very far from our thoughts. From the joyful cover image to photos of brightly-painted buses to the clear maps and tips for travelers, Arthur delivers more than promised--as does Haiti herself. You'll come back for more, once you taste this brief introduction to the famed Hotel Oloffson, tap-taps and Vodou, rara and compa and rasin music, Sweet Micky & Boukman Eksperyans & Tabou Combo, the "little church" and "the flood," peasant movements and death squads, creole pigs and deforestation, poverty and structural adjustment, Toussaint Louverture & the slave revolution, the Duvalier dictatorship and the Tonton Macoutes, poetry and paintings. This book came just in time to enlighten & amaze students in my class on the prize-winning works of Haitian-American author Edwidge Danticat. We all give this little book a two-thumbs-up!



3. This book is helping me to understand the situation of Haiti in historical context. Its information, format and pictures strike me as slightly out of date but it certainly will give you a background even if not covering the last few years. Since there aren't a lot of books like this one about Haiti I would recommend this for anyone who wants to know more about it but does not want to read a long in-depth tome.



4. really comprehensive view of politics and life in haiti. useful tips for the traveler to Haiti including where to buy condoms!



5. This is a thin booklet providing a nice overview of Haitian culure, politics and history: it contains a little bit of everything, illustrated by photographs. The scope of the book is limited, however, and considering political conflicts and agenda, it has aged a bit since 2002 edition. I like the fact that the booklet invites you to further reading, including online resources. At times, I found the language a bit twisted and information a bit insufficient (which is to be expected). If you feel you're missing some general knowledge on Haiti, this is an excellent book to start with (and easy to take with you anywhere), but make sure you update yourself with the latest political issues, before making a decision to travel there. In the time of writing this review, most Western countries advise their citizens not to travel to Haiti. That being said, I think the front page photo provides a great insight ...

No comments about Frommer's 24 Great Walks in Paris (Great Walks).