1 comments about Time Out 1000 Things to Do in London (Time Out Guides).

1. We found this book very helpful for our first trip to London. We visited many of the sites mentioned and I like the fact that it doesn't focus on the typical "tourist" destinations. However, it does seem to stretch it a little bit to come up with 1000 interesting things! Fast delivery from Amazon.

5 comments about A Town Like Paris: Falling in Love in the City of Light.

1. Formidable!!!! Everyone knows Paris is full to the brim with culture - this book looks beyond that and goes behind the scenes. It makes you wish you could jump off your commuter train, jump on the Eurostar and start your life all over! Corbett's lived a life we all wish we had the balls to lead and makes you laugh out loud with his personal accounts of real life in the city of love.



2. Thoroughly enjoyed this book...a young man's fantasy fulfilled of living and romancing in that wonderful city of Paris. If you should be planning a stay there then this book will provide a great background reference by introducing you to so many of the city's haunts and delights. If you are just reading it from your armchair then you will find yourself enjoying so much of Paris' glamour vicariously. Good fun, a good read - recommended.



3. This book is a little gem. I stumbled across it last summer and could not put it down. Bryce takes you on a highly entertaining ride,this book is a real page turner. I love the way Bryce tackles the challenges Paris, women and work set out for him. This vivid story really jumps off the pages and you quickly develop an affinity for Bryce in his many endeavours!!



4. This is a very easy & fun read. I love Paris and enjoyed experiencing it through an expatriate's eyes. I would recommend this to anyone who wants a fun and entertaining experience, especially if you have any interest in Paris or submersing yourself in a culture other than your own.
   Looking forward to book #2.



5. I loved this book. I lived in Paris for a year myself and found Bryce's account of French government, cultural mentality and "on verra" attitude to be very funny and true to life. Makes me miss Paris even more!

No comments about Wallpaper City Guide: Reykjavik (Wallpaper City Guides) (Wallpaper City Guides).

2 comments about Best Bed & Breakfast England, Scotland, Wales 2008-2009 (Best Bed and Breakfast in England, Scotland, and Wales).

1. We purchased this book in anticipation of a trip to UK. While the pictures were lovely, we didn't find many listings for the areas where we planned to visit, and I didn't find the book real easy to use...maybe it is just me. We ended up leaving it with our kids who live in UK, hoping they might find it helpful for a weekend getaway in the future.



2. I am disappointed in the subject book because the print is so light that it is extremely difficult to read. The content is excellent as usual, but I cannot understand why the print is so faint. I have purchased this book in years past and never had this problem. I would like to know the reason for this change.

5 comments about Fast Company: A Memoir of Life, Love, and Motorcycles in Italy.

1. Different..... a great read. My daughter lived in Bologna for a few years, and I visited the city which made the book more interesting to me. It really helps to have spent time in the culture on this one. After you get over the funny "attempt" to cover up the Ducati name..very wierd...it's just a wild ride through a culture on many different levels.
   Don't read this book to get page after page of mototcycle details. This is a story about people and culture that produce the bikes from the viewpoint of an outsider..who in the end becomes a part of it all. I enjoyed the writing style and content more because it's a true story.



2. Within captivating literary style, Gross's portrayals illuminate an Italian world as it is now, and this is clearly not the world of "Room with a view". Surely the Italian journals and "Corriere della Sera" are well versed with the struggles of Italian boutique businesses trying to meet the challenge of growth to an international level, but to follow the chain of events of Ducati from within and during a major transitional effort is a special gift. To become acquainted with personal and detailed snapshots of corporate design processes and the trials of prima donna designers is equally rewarding, and sheds a fair light on recent Ducati products. From the beach exploits and dreams of characters depicted, one senses the struggles of modern young Italians. Add to this the author's struggle to rationalize infatuation with a young and arrogant love, and one finds another level or dimension of the Italy of today. This love may have equally been heterosexual, it's characteristics in modern day Italy would have been the same. The vignette descriptions ranging from learning to ride a motorcycle, different bikes, and tours reach out to the motorcyclist in all of us, as these motivate us to reach beyond ourselves whether or not a leg is thrown over a bike. This is a book for everyone where one truly gains a view into the beauty, challenge, and flavor of Italy today. On other levels, having been an Italian ex-pat for three years, ridden motorcycles for 30 years, and a Ducatista for 15 years, this book has touched on many levels and reminds of the need to return.



3. The book was a good read on several levels. As a motorcycle
   enthusiast and as a designer.. the stories from Ducati.. the inner
   workings.. design process.. people were fascinating. Having worked
   with all sorts of clients and designers I related easily to the events.
   Bologna was presented in vivid descriptions, with its culture,
   people, society coming to life. I kept having flashbacks to my 2
   years in Milano as well as subsequent visits. I toured most of Italy
   but sadly I only stopped at the train station in Bologna. Hopefully
   on a future trip I can go to Bologna and visit Ducati.
   I thought the sections at the seaside were hilarious.... the descriptions
   were like Fellini on Jolt cola I was more exhausted with those stories than
   the moto giro ones.
   The sections on the MotoGiro were also very compelling for one that rides a
   motorcycle....the good, the bad, the ugly, the danger, the exhilaration were all there.
   Personal life was interesting, full of irony, but in the end none of my business.
   Throughout the book I especially enjoyed kind of a deadpan
   description of the theater of the absurd that is Italy..left me with
   lot's to think about.



4. It is almost as much fun to wonder how David Gross, in a "inside Italian motorcycles" book learns so much, so fast. But he is smart, and he falls in love with Italy in more ways than one. Arriving in Bologna, Italy as "creative director" of the newly financially juggled - hell, can I say that it was "Ducati" now? - motorcycle company, the author adjusts quickly, first seizing upon advertising strategies that center on visualizing Italian grit, and helping to inject a world personality into what the cognoscenti know is the world's most sexy motorcycle.
   We're reminded of the woman - a non-motorcyclist - who once gazed on a 1973 Ducati "Super Sport" 750 cc. twin (upon which the modern dukes evolved), and exclaimed, "This is the most beautiful motorcycle I've ever seen!"
   And so it is. The imagistic makeover is spliced by Gross'es personal introduction to what we had always heard - that Italy is wild, vain - and unlike the United States - more than mildly corrupt.
   `Fast Company' gives hilarious portraits of "crazy genius" motorcycle designers, their temper tantrums, roaming union gangs, and hair-raising motorcycle rides on the cobblestones.
   This is a fast-paced, well-written book, tracking the birth of the single-cylindered dukes (great vintage road racers today!). It deftly changes names and dances away from potential lawsuits in a chase for grace and meaning.
   In the end, you'll not quite understand the Italian mystery, but for sure, you'll get stylish prose from David Gross, say, the antithesis of a Harley book, which will never get beyond its own narcissism. "Fast Company" is for fans of the finest - a literary rocket for the mountain road.



5. "Fast Company," the first book by David M. Gross, is an amazingly rich and detailed account of an American businessman's life in Bologna Italy. Unlike many recent accounts of Italy dripping with overtly idealized romanticism, David instead takes on a much more challenging task. Without the crutches of good vs. evil dichotomies, moralizing, descriptions of fantastical feats or extremes in characterization; David has composed an insightful book that allows his readers to truly observe Italy and its people from a beautifully lyrical yet thoroughly grounded perspective. This feat is only possible due to the author's own depth of experience as both a business man, lover, and passionate motorcyclist.
   
   This account skillfully manages to mix the seemingly disparate worlds of love, business, sport, and culture into an account that as often frustrates as it gives cause for laughter or deep reflection. We learn the difference between language and communication with David as he recalls his often times hilarious encounters with the many eclectic employees of a faltering yet proud motorcycle company. He describes in invigorating detail his love for a young Italian that, like exotic motorbikes, is equally beautiful and dangerous. In sometimes overwhelming detail, he succeeds in describing what becoming and being a motorcyclist means, whether taking a leisurely ride or primally pushing the limits.
   
   The only short coming of this great book is that David's own character often seems to be overshadowed by the many other characters that surround him. He is not overt in giving his opinion, and is quite obviously non-confrontational in demeanor. David is often times a listener, and observer; these very aspects of his character are the keys to what make him his friend's and coworker's confidant and allow the insight so inherent in his writing. His own character may not be overtly painted, but if a reader is observant (a lesson that David artfully teaches) one does become familiar with the author through his experiences.
   
   My recommendation is that you read David's story; yes, you will become intimately acquainted with "life, love, and motorcycles in Italy" but even more so, you will come just a little closer to knowing how you might respond if asked the question, "are you ready to fly without a parachute?"

3 comments about Pauline Frommer's Italy: Spend Less, See More (Pauline Frommer Guides).

1. I am going to Italy this Spring and I thought that this book would give me valuable information for my trip. It already saved me $400 when I used a url site for finding a cost effective flight to another place!



2. This book is fantastic. LOTS of websites are listed and the practical info just isn't found in other books. The DK books are great for the pics, but this book is great for the recommendations of what NOT to miss and ways to see the other non-touristy side of Italy. So far this has been my favorite book. Can't wait to go to Italy!!



3. I recently traveled to Italy with three guidebooks; this one, the Rick Steves and Fodors. I ended up throwing the other two away. This one gives the best advice by far and doesn't just send you to the places where all the other tourists are (like Steves). I really enjoyed the restaurant recommendations and found a great apartment in Rome through this book (loved the non-traditional lodgings listed in this book; so different than the other books). Great sightseeing and advice on transportation too. And Italy's expensive right now, but this book helped make it affordable. I can't tell you how terrific this book was!

5 comments about Did Marco Polo Go To China?.

1. About Frances Wood's Did Marco Polo Go To China?

   In 1995 Dr Frances Wood published a book titled Did Marco Polo Go To China?, which became Marco Polo Did Not Go To China in the German version. This book, purporting to unmask Marco Polo as a fraud, has enjoyed considerable attention - which it fully merited as an entertaining piece of light reading. Unfortunately, Wood's argument appears to have been taken at face value in some academic circles, so much so that a word of warning now seems appropriate: Wood's story is neither original, nor is it scholarly. The gist of Wood's argument has been commonplace through the ages and, especially, in the 19th century. In its present form it was suggested in a lighthearted way some years ago by the eminent German sinologist Herbert Franke who now categorically rejects Wood's thesis. As for the scholarship of Wood's book, it is impugned on a series of counts, notably in an exhaustive study published in 1997 by Igor de Rachewiltz of the Australian National University wherein Wood's arguments are discussed one by one, not infrequently on the basis of documents that the author overlooked, or even deliberately ignored as inimical to her story. One case in point shall suffice here to cripple Wood's thesis. It concerns the accounts in a 15th century Chinese encyclopaedia (publ. in 1941 by Yang Chih-chiu) and in the Persian historian Rashid al-Din's Collection of Histories (discussed by F.W. Cleaves in 1976) of the 1291-3 naval expedition conveying the Mongol princess Kokecin from China to Persia - of which Marco Polo bears detailed witness as a participant. It really should be incumbent on authors in Dr Wood's position, as a matter of intellectual correctness, clearly to signal the distinction between historical fancy and the reporting of serious research. Canberra, Australia




2. Marco Polo, whose very name is a byword for travel and adventure, is worth reconsidering; but the case Frances Wood builds against him is primarily negative: Polo didn't mention the Great Wall, or cormorant fishing, or binding women's feet. All these matters are more than adequately answered in John Larner's MARCO POLO AND THE DISCOVERY OF THE WORLD, a book I recommend for balance. The thesis of Marco Polo not going to China is compelling, and Wood's style is fast-paced and keeps at a high level. But she seems to rebut her own argument in some places -- for instance, even mentioning a name close to "Polo" where Marco was said to have been, but dismissing it just as quickly by saying it couldn't have been him (the answer comes in a later chapter, but by the time you reach it, the author has made the argument look specious).

   Marco Polo may indeed have exaggerated his own importance. Instead of being ruler of a province, being a major player in the salt business, on the face of it, was probably more likely his position. But Marco was a businessman brought up in a mercantile family. Unlike the author's idea, a seventeen year old in the thirteenth century was not considered a "boy" -- in fact, he was coming up on half his life expectancy. Even if the "great wall" of that day was the wall we see today (it wasn't, the impressive brick facade came later), we can hardly expect boyish wonder.

   Without positive evidence, Frances Wood runs across the problem of those who believe Shakespeare didn't write his plays, or that he didn't exist. They can only argue from negative evidence, and a negative can't be proven. It cannot be proven that, because the Khan of Khans didn't mention a Venetian traveller, that the traveller who says he was there was lying -- although it can may suggest that he wasn't as important in the Khan's court as he intimates.

   This book is only for those who wish to find out all aspects of the Polo problem. It's not recommended for the general reader, especially one who just wants to see famous people debunked. Debunking western European figures is a cottage industry at the turn of the twenty-first century, but in the case the evidence is very thin for the revisionists.

   For someone who wants a good, solid, general overview of Polo and his mystique, check the John Larner book.




3. Frances Wood provides a semi-revisionist view on the travels of Messer Marco Polo. Wood offers a number of contentions (chopsticks, the Great Wall, cormorant fishing, Chinese writing, paper, tea, foot binding, not being mentioned in Mongolian and Chinese historical records, not learning Chinese, and the who invented ice cream/spaghetti debate) that make it seem highly unlikely that Polo actually went as far east as China. I will list each of Woods main arguments and then offer my own explanation.

   Chopsticks: this is a good argument, however, there are many people in Central Asia that use chopsticks. In the Xinjiang Autonomous Region of China for example, most if not all Uighurs use chopsticks when eating noodles and dumplings. Perhaps Polo would have been surprised to see people in Central Asia using chopsticks at first, but by the time he traveled all the way eastward to China he had become accustomed to seeing the use of chopsticks and so this was not such an exciting thing. And what about the Middle East where people eat with their right hand and wipe with their left? Why is'nt this mentioned by Polo?

   The Great Wall: another decent argument. However, there is absolutely no way to verify the exact route Polo took and so how can we discern if he ever had the chance to actually see the wall or not? Many travelers have tried to trace his route but none have succeeded. Wood describes the Wall as being made of yellow sand and mud. If you have ever been to China, you will see how well the old original parts of the wall blends in with the countryside. Only now can we really make out the wall with all of its brick renovations/restorations. It would be like someone coming to visit New York City and seeing the Empire State Building. Impressive? Yes. But would that person be so excited about it that they would write about it? Probably not.

   Comorant fishing: It's not like all of China fishes with cormorant birds. This is a very specialized brand of fishing in a very small portion of China. It's very possible that Polo never even had a chance to visit this area.

   Chinese writing : Woods argues that Polo never mentions anything about Chinese writing/caligraphy. But if Polo was a sycophant of Kublai Khan and Mongolia being the dominant country at the time, there would be no reason for Polo to learn Chinese. But surely he must have learned some Chinese but he just did'nt mention it. Besides, Mongol script is very similar to Arabic script and so again, this would not be anything new to Polo having traveled throughout Persia and the Middle East.

   Paper: what is so exciting about paper when the great Khan gives you a golden tablet for unmolested travel back to Venice?

   tea: tea was available everywhere in the Middle East and India. Why would this be a revelation?

   Foot binding: most Chinese women who had their feet bound were of the upper class. Supposedly done to make women look more sexy, it was in reality more or less a sinister way of not allowing women freedom and the opportunity to cheat on their husbands. If a woman was unhappy in her marriage, there was absolutely no way for her to "walk out" so to speak. Most foot bound women stayed at home inside so Polo may not have had much opportunity to see this practice.

   Not being mentioned in historical records: Polo probably exaggerated greatly his importance within the Imperial Court. He was also not the the first European to visit Mongolia/China. And even if he was a high official, was it not more the responsibility of the Mongols to document this as opposed to China as Mongolia was the ruling country?

   Who invented Ice Cream and Spaghetti, Italy or China?: I think it is pretty obvious that these two foods originated in Central Asia, if not the Middle East. Woods admits this herself. Having been to Central Asia, it seems to me highly likely or quite possible that these could have originated in West/Central Asia. Dumplings are a regular staple of many within Central Asia.

   After 17 years in a foreign land, it would have been very difficult to remember every single thing that Polo saw. Polo himself said that he had not told the half of what he saw.

   All in all, this is an excellent book worth reading. Wood says that this is not the ultimate answer or authority on whether Polo actually visited China, but a book to read so that people can think more analytically and critically about Marco Polo.

   A very readable book with a number of passages that describe the power and ferocity of the Mongols: "like the reprisal against Burma (1277) when the Muslim general of the Mongol army Nasir al-Din, aware that he was outnumbered , ordered his archers to fire on the two thousand Burmese war elephants, covering them with arrows and causing a frenzied stampede."

   A book well worth reading but buy it used!




4. As with any book of historical perspective, the reader should take into account the historian's viewpoint, but also what is not said. Indeed history is interpreted through it's interpreters, historians, through facts that they believe to be accurate. There are, however, other viewpoints or perspectives that can be as well supported through facts.
   "Did Marco Polo Go to China?" piques the issue and raises some considerable debatable questions on whether one of history's greatests myths is indeed fact and to what level cultural diffusion took place between the east and west during that specific time period.
   Please read this book with objectivity and do not consider it to be the answer, as the answer should be found after reading all different viewpoints through a self-exploration process.



5. Any book that stirs up the kind of response this one has is worth reading. When an author/historian challenges any history that is such an integral part of our catechism s/he's going to get a reaction. Did Marco Polo Go to China? I don't know but it sure is intriguing to go back in time and try to figure it out.

5 comments about The Diary of Melanie Martin: or How I Survived Matt the Brat, Michelangelo, and the Leaning Tower of Pizza (Melanie Martin Novels).

1. Having traveled to Italy with my family when I was twelve, The Diary of Melanie Martin called back dozens of similar memories of all the museums which were endured with the promise of gelato and of the delicious food which Weston describes to mouth-watering perfection. Reading this book, I kept on wishing it had been around for my family vacation so that my brother and I could have played "Point out the Naked People" during our museum tours; now I can only wholeheartedly recommend it to every member of a family planning a trip to Italy or just looking for a funny and truthfully-written book too perfetto to be missed.



2. A must read with the monalisa, sistin chapel, and boots the cat. Also it has ton of poetry. The book makes your mouth water for more.



3. I read melanie martin, and it was sensational!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I wanted to learn about Italy, and she helped me learn about it. Read this book, and you'll wanna read the other three book too.



4. The Diary Of Melanie Martin is a book about a young girl called Melanie. She flies to Italy with her family on an airplane when she had never been out of the U.S.A. She loved the thought going to a foreign country, but things didn't turn out how she expected... I liked this book and all the characters in it. My favorite part of the book was when Melanie just went back home to the U.S.A. She had realized a lot about her family and learned some important values. Melanie inspired me to be nicer to my sibling, as she did in the book. I definitely recommend this book to anybody who has a sibling, or who has never been out of his or her country. In this book, she gives the lesson about trying new things and taking risks. I am sure that anybody who reads this book will learn some useful information about life! Enjoy!



5. My 10 year old daughter loves all four of the Melanie Martin books. She cannot put them down. Not only is she entertained, but also has learned a few things about other countries. As a teacher, I highly recommend the Melanie Martin books. I sure hope Mrs. Weston keeps adding more to this series.
   Melissa Lombardo

1 comments about Top 10 Brussels (EYEWITNESS TOP 10 TRAVEL GUIDE).

1. These guides are excellent, very visual. Nevertheless not good for a budget traveller or backpacker since it shows fine and expensive restaurants and attractions mostly. It would be better a guide for only Brussels.

5 comments about Andalucia (Regional Guide).

1. If you're traveling to Andalucia, Spain this is the book to take along. I reviewed Eyewitness Travel Guide (both Spain and Andalucia), Fodor, Frommer, Cordovon, and others. Lonely Planet has outstanding city maps and lots of them. It has built in "tabs" of the provinces, e..g. Cadiz, Sevilla, city guide maps with numbered legends on food, lodging and sights. The book is jam packed with useful information, things to buy, walking tours, practical information. The Lonely Planet guide has one two page color map, and some scattered color pictures, augmented with frequent and helpful black and white artwork. This book was recommended by a Spanish website.

   Comparison to other guide books: The Eyewitness guides had much more color. Some had color photos, some not at all. Cordovon had bigger type, but much less information, and poorer artwork. Both Fodor and Frommer have full size maps with their main book on Spain. If you want an additional map, go with Michelin 446 available at Amazon.com or the more detailed EuroAtlas Spain Portugal by American Map--about 300 pages, including some cities. The Lonely Planet book, comes with a colored map and many supplements. A separate map is an option, not a necessity.




2. Lonely Planet Andalucia is clearly inferior to Rough Guide Andalucia and below the standards I have come to expect from Lonely Planet. I found repeatedly that the author(s) appear morei interested in cutesy writing style than in incisive fieldwork and allowed their infatuation with their glib comments to gloss over their lack of good travel writing and description. The guides to eating are almost useless. For those who think otherwise, check the section Where to Eat in Seville. For those who make the mistake of buying the book, I suggest you don't even bother with the reviews of eating places.
   I decided to leave my Lonely Planet Andalucia in Seville and brought my Rough Guide home with me.
   The series editors need to clamp down on the writing style of the individual volumes and force them to write for the traveler,not for themselves.



3. I'm supposed to spend more than 6months in Andalucia, so I needed more than 'Lonely planet Spain'. The book is great.
   The reason I gave 4 stars because it took a little bit longer than I expected, but it wasn't bad for oversea delivery.



4. I used this book to plan my trip to Andalucia in March 2006. It helped me to budget for the trip, and to plan my iteniary effectively. I went to resturants mentioned in the book in Marbella, Malaga, Granada and Seville and they offered the service I expected. The maps were very helpful and informative.
   
   I highly recommend.



5. Lonely Planet delivers on Southern Spain...a good guide for all ages,and most travelers (unless you're stinking rich or package tour fodder) I bought it in advance of trip for a bit of armchair preparation. This edition is not heavy ...it's a 488 page volume, weighing 10oz, packed with usual background, history, maps, and suggestions for accommodation, where to eat and drink, shopping, nightlife etc. Excellent buy.