4 comments about Take Your Kids to Europe, 7th: How to Travel Safely (and Sanely) in Europe with Your Children (Take Your Kids to Europe).

1. The payoff for reading Cynthia Harriman's "Take Your Kids to Europe" carefully is tremendous. We have a five-week trip to Europe coming up and our copy if already getting dog-eared from overreading. This guidebook is different and better. Most "what to do with the kids overseas" books are filled with things you already instinctively knew - i.e. your kid will like Legoland and here is how to get there and the hours it's open. Harriman's guide acknowledges there is more to a successful family trip than just picking the right things to see, and she uses the reactions of her own actual kids to back up her suggestions. For example, she is a master of managing family dynamics on a trip. Here are a few of her suggestions:
   
   1) Everybody wants to do something different, and nobody likes to compromise. It's just about impossible to agree, so Harriman suggests a "leader of the day" system - each member of the family gets a day or part of a day to pick what the "team" will do, where it will eat. Everybody gets to do some of their favorites eventually. This takes some self-discipline on the part of the parents - if the kids want to spend the morning by the pool, you'll have to agree - but you'll get to see that church you want to see in the afternoon.
   
   2) You are looking for family togetherness but in fact that much togetherness can be stressful. For example, your teenager is all about independence. Go ahead and let said teenager hang out alone in the hotel room for an afternoon if that's what she needs. You and your spouse will argue about giving directions; Harriman encourages you to loosen up and learn about each other.
   
   3) Harriman has a lot of good suggestions about how to make a lengthy trip affordable, and gives good suggestions for budgeting in advance.
   
   In additional to general advice, Harriman shows excellent good sense in sections on what attractions to see - she's frank about things the kids were underwhelmed by (most chateaus just aren't as interesting as you'd think to a 9-year-old), and points out things that are actually more fun than they would sound on paper. So rather than 50 kid-oriented attractions in a country (like other books), all presented with equal breathless interest, she might have 20 - 15 her kids really liked (and why), and 5 they didn't like.
   
   Harriman does not recommend many specific hotels and restaurants (there are other sources for those), so you may find you supplement this book with others. But you can't do without this one - I really love it.



2. This book has great ideas on dealing with budgets, luggage, etc. I especially like that they were keen on the idea of an 'extended' stay in Europe e.g., several weeks, and provided some sound examples of how it really doesn't cost much more to do that if you're willing to be flexible with accomodations & meals.
   
   I lived in Europe for several pre-teen and teenage years, and we travelled widely. At the time I was always amazed at the number of people who take these "8 countries in 2 weeks" style tour packages -- the pace is so hectic there's no time to enjoy or experience the places, and they are wholly unsuitable for children.
   
   The book is also good at pointing out attractions that would appeal to kids, which is helpful since most guidebooks focus on the 'serious' sites that kids would find less appealing.



3. We live in London, and travel every chance we have. This book provides great ideas for structuring trips and helping children enjoy the sights and experiences. It's a good companion for families planning European vacations. I am very glad to have this information and always review it before we travel.



4. This book is indeed a godsend for parents. Although it's geared to Western Europe, over half the book focuses on universal tips that would also be helpful in Turkey or Transylvania, such as how to get kids to try different foods or appreciate museums. I loved this book, and found the author's advice invaluable when I took my two daughters to Europe.

3 comments about Study Abroad Paris: Your Complete Guide to an Amazing Study Abroad Experience.

1. This is a very useful guidebook and a unique idea for study abroad students. The book is basically divided into three sections: preparing for your trip, living in Paris, traveling Europe and France.
   
   For me the biggest strength is the middle section "once in Paris." It covers basics as you would expect like housing, shopping, taking classes or working, safety, transportation, attractions, places to eat, clubs, tours, etc. However what impressed me was it also covers more specific things like finding a gym, student organizations, grocery stores, cell phones, renting a bicycle, calling home... I would definitely recommend having a copy if you are heading or plan to head to Paris.



2. Written by French native Audrey Queyreyre and university Peer Advisor John Chrisman, both of whom have extensive personal experience studying abroad, Study Abroad Paris an in-depth, everything-you-need-to-know guide to getting the most out of studying abroad in France's most famous city. From financial and insurance issues, to which Parisian news and media sources are available in English, to shopping tips, safety advice (including which public transportation lines and city areas are more prone to crime than others), housing recommendations and much more. An absolute "must-have" for anyone seriously contemplating or undertaking the life-transforming experience of studying abroad in Paris, and a valuable resource for Paris tourists of any season.



3. I wanted to give it 4.25 stars. I mean, if you go by the French education system the book would be unable to get a five, because perfection is impossible. It's a pretty good book. It's helpful as a reference for getting to know Paris, especially in the nerve-wracking time upon arrival. It's better than a tourist guide in the sense that it tell you how to live in Paris, rather than what is pretty.

No comments about Fodor's See It Paris, 3rd Edition (Fodor's See It).

4 comments about A Piano in the Pyrenees: The Ups and Downs of an Englishman in the French Mountains.

1. I've always found Tony Hawks books enjoyable. Funny books but I've always felt they were a little contrived - a little too forced. (Danny Wallace take note)
   In 'A Piano in the Pyrenees' I thought this would be another fun but laboured idea. Not so!
   This is a new Hawks whose writing has evolved.
   He joins the ranks of Dave Gorman (Googlewhack adventure)or the much under rated John Donoghue (Shakespeare My B*tt!)
   In this, Hawks has characters (that don't seem stage managed) as he explores the French culture. This isn't a collection of jokes surrounding a bizarre idea...this is self-deprecating, endearing, entertaining, witty ...and above all believable.



2. Fantastic book, very well written & entertaining.
   But be careful, if you have a sensitive disposition & want to avoid making any kind of public scene - make sure you read it in private. This book is laugh out loud funny.



3. From reading Tony's previous work i had expected something funny, clever and
   entertaining but it was not any of these. Perhaps he's taking a new direction into light, unfunny travelogues. If so i would recommend he not do so.



4. I am a longstanding fan of Tony Hawks' work, and still believe that "Round Ireland With a Fridge" is the single best travel book ever written. I have also enjoyed his other books (on tennis and pop music) greatly. Needless to say, when I was in Ireland last (sadly, without my fridge), went into a bookstore and found this, Hawks' latest book, I bought it immediately. Unfortunately, it was a bit of a letdown. While I liked the book, I found that it drags and is much more directionless than his earlier books, although the reappearance of a lost love at the very end does provide the book with a convenient conclusion.
   
   The book essentially showcases Hawks' impracticality in purchasing a house in France with no preparation, and the subsequent adventures of getting it arranged as he would like. I did enjoy his adventures with the white vans of doom, but found the endless pontification on building his swimming pool to be decidedly tedious. The book comes in at 307 pages long, far longer than "Round Ireland With a Fridge," and demonstrates a need for editing. The book wants to be about a man's search for significance in middle age, but the important messages the book delivers (and to Hawks' credit, the messages are in there) are buried under layers of minutiae that are neither particularly interesting or amusing.
   
   I did like the book, but not nearly as much as Hawks' earlier, more focused, books. I would recommend this book to fans of the earlier works, but I would recommend all of Hawks' earlier books first.

1 comments about Paris Inside Out, 7th: The Insider's Handbook to Life in Paris (Paris Inside Out: The Insider's Handbook to Life in Paris).

1. I have had various editions of Paris Inside Out since it was mailed to me as an incoming freshman at The American University of Paris in 1997. David Applefield, a former AUP professor, provides invaluable "insider" information about every possible subject. He tells you where the only post office is in Paris that is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. He tells you what oddities to look out for when you are on the metro, including a sign that shows EXACTLY where the Bastille was (as opposed to the column at Bastille that is several hundred feet above ground and thus not highly accurate). He gives you helpful terms for dealing with people at the Post Office, and explains the French mentality to you. He tells you about the all-night buses, the cheapest places to eat in Paris, when the best museums are free, etc.
   
   Basically, this book is knowledge you would acquire yourself after living in Paris for a few years. And some of it is already out of date (notably the reference about how long it takes a non-EU citizen to acquire EU citizenship after marriage). I would highly recommend this to college students coming to Paris, or to people moving to Paris for work.

5 comments about A Writer's Paris.

1. After reading Eric's wonderful book Sleep Thinking & having my writing improve a millionfold because of it, I joined Eric's Yahoo!Group newsletter. He's talked about this book. It didn't do a "thing" for me because I really hate Paris. But his other books have helped sooo much, I keep reading his newsletter.
   
   His latest one said:
   
   >>When an editor buys a book from you that in her mind is in the inspirational" category, it can be decidedly hard for you to slip material into the book that is controversial and meaty.
   
   Although A Writer's Paris is an "inspirational book," in the sense that it is meant to inspire you to go to Paris and write, I also wanted to talk about class and privilege, religious opposition to scientific thought, and other "non-inspirational" matters. I tucked in several such essays and wondered how many would make the final cut.
   
   Some of these meaty essays made it into the book and some did not. ...
   
   I am pleased that pieces like Privilege and the Place Vendome, Gay Mayors, and Darwin's Wife made it into the finished product.<<
   
   To me, those "meaty essays" sound like they are talking about what Fiction is really all about.
   
   I just wish all of them had been included.
   
   Maybe Eric will write a "meaty essays" book someday.



2. A Writer's Paris proves inspirational, whether or not you're planning to go to Paris or if you've already visited the city where many artists go to create. Not only does Maisel describe life as a writer on a Paris sojourn, but also the activities for a writer to do for inspiration.
   
   Substitute the places in Paris for the ones in your hometown or country you plan to visit to write. While the book has recommendations for places to stay, along with a planning checklist, information on where to go, and other resources, its content provides plenty of inspiration and ideas that work anywhere.
   
   While the book's purpose is to encourage writers to take a Sabbatical in Paris, it also easily inspires and motivates readers to create more and writer better. Maisel happens to use Paris as the central location for the book's theme taking time-out for deep exploration for writing. Paris or no Paris -- writers can glean many things from this original book.
   
   Topics include writing books in three weeks, taking the bad with the good, practicing the art of strolling, dealing with and appreciating the absurd, making the cafe a home, overcoming barriers, engaging your senses, and more. The writing is superb and flows lyrically with the illustrations adding the feeling of going on a journey while reading the book.



3. In a rare combination of travelogue and writer's guide, Maisel speaks directly to every writer who values calm surroundings as well as a calm state of mind in order to write. Part tour guide, and part writing coach, Maisel takes the reader on the journey he promises in the subtitle.



4. I must admit to purchasing this because Danny Gregory did some of the illustrations. That said, as I read I became intrigued with what I could learn about my own compulsion, and sometimes strong commitment, to painting. Although the star of this show seems to be Paris, the lessons about turning away from other preoccupations and just getting to it, no matter where you are, can be applied to any location. Instilling discipline in a routine, albeit one that is wrapped in time and self-permission, is a strong central message. I liked the practicality of many suggestions and the devil-may-care attitude of others.



5. To follow in the footsteps of Simone de Beauvoir and F. Scott Fitzgerald.... in Paris ... a how-to guide for those bent on a Gaullist literary retreat into the city that spawned many literary masterpieces. Don't forget the cigarettes, the lattes, and of course ... your French Berlitz language book.

1 comments about France - Culture Smart!: a quick guide to customs and etiquette (Culture Smart!).

1. After reading the book, I came to the conclusion that the author just hates the French people. If I had read this book before my first trip to France, I would have cancelled it.

5 comments about True Summit: What Really Happened on the Legendary Ascent of Annapurna.

1. True Summit is an amazing book, both as a climbing book and as a work of historical scholarship. It exposes a web of dishonesty surrounding the classic account of the first ascent of Annapurna. Some scenes are provocative of outrage, as when Roberts describes the editorial notes -- "Wrong", "This must be changed" -- made by Herzog and Devies on Lachenal's diary. Throughout, Roberts intersperses scenes from his own mountaineering career, which add immediacy and human interest. One nitpick I had was that, as a writer of history, Roberts should really have given a definitive list of sources and referenced his quotes. More importantly, I felt that he never really sums up his arguments. Why was Herzog's Annapurna the whitewashed version that it apparently was? Were the reasons nationalistic, class (amateur versus guide), personal? What can these events tell us about mountaineering as a whole? These are questions which Roberts does not really address. Still, this is a fascinating book and I certainly recommend it.



2. I am not a climber and I enjoyed this book. The story that is shared is about human faults that can be applied to a variety of experiences, they are not limited to events on the world's great mountains. I was also drawn to the book, as it was a discussion of the first climbers to summit the mountain, and a climber on the fatal Everest 1996 died on the same mountain, Annapurna.

   Mr. David Roberts did a nice job of bringing the reader along and sharing the climb and the distorted history that followed. More importantly he helped to reinforce what appears to be the truth about the climb, and to apportion credit as it should have been done so many decades ago.

   I have read several accounts of the 1996 Everest expedition that caused so much loss of life, and to my surprise so much finger pointing by those who survived the ordeal. Many memories seemed to be influenced by the mental strain the mountain causes in climbers at the highest altitudes, but some seemed to persist even when photographs contradicted a given Author's statement. The climbers in 1996 had experienced guides and protective clothing that the first climbers on Annapurna would have thought to be the creation of science fiction. So, as Mr. Roberts began his story it seemed to be a case of memories created when badly injured bodies, and oxygen-deprived minds had left gaps. Even on the miserable trek back, people using morphine and suffering amputations, and dozens of other tortures recounted much of the originally published story.

   Just as human nature was able to overcome hideous physical events, it too was able to distort the record for the benefit of one man at the expense of others who climbed with him, attained the summit with him, and saved his life. The beneficiary of the distortions was alive and interviewed for this book, and it was those interviews, combined with the evidence proving the true story that made this correcting of the historical record so important.

   Mr. Maurice Herzog clearly intended for the historical outcome he contrived, and that nearly became the permanent record, to be the only record. From the oath he administered to his "teammates" to his continuing denial of the facts, and his refusal to allow access to records that further document the truth, Mr. Herzog took what was a group success that could have been nothing other than positive, and distorted it into a personal fantasy that provided him a lifetime of security which he had no more right to than the other men he climbed with. He would not allow the Author to print a picture of the other man who made the top with him, how vain, petty, and pathetic.

   It would be convenient to say an old man's memory is faulty, but as he demonstrated himself, Mr. Herzog may indeed be advanced in years, but he is what he was, a pathetic self promoter that fictionalized an event that was extraordinary, it needed no embellishment, and the triumph certainly did not need to be the domain of one vain individual.




3. "Annapurna" by Maurice Herzog, is the best-selling mountaineering book ever written. The feat of being the first man to climb an 8,000-meter mountain is a matter of great pride to France and to all the people of France. Now what if the story was not true? What if Mr. Herzog's tale was full of lies and deceits? What if you wrote a book exposing these falsities and set the record straight? If that is what you are expecting, you bought the wrong book.

   Mr. Roberts, in this slim book, definitively shows that:

   1. Maurice Herzog was a fine climber, an idealist, a leader of men, and a gracious individual who was very partial to publicity and glory.

   2. Louis Lachenal, who summitted with Mr. Herzog, did not get his share of the credit.

   3. The profits from "Annapurna" went to Club Alpin François. None of the team members, including Mr. Herzog, received any monetary benefits from the book's publication.

   4. Fellow members Lionel Terray and Gaston Rebuffat were absolutely indispensable to the success of the climb. Their bravery and generosity were extraordinary.

   Other reviewers have mentioned that one must read "Annapurna" before reading this book. I did so, and found it highly readable, spirited and Mr. Herzog's enthusiasm shows through every page. I thought a lot of the book was taken up by just finding a route to the mountain, but all in all, an interesting read. Most of the points Mr. Roberts makes are implied in "Annapurna." Though there is no denying Louis Lachenal is the forgotten man.

   Mr. Roberts makes a large point of how all team members were forbidden by contract to write a book about the expedition for five years. These rights were given solely to Maurice Herzog. Such a contract is common to this day for large sponsored expeditions. The only reason we have had such a plethora of books starting with "Into Thin Air" about the 1996 Everest expedition is because there were no corporate or government sponsors for that trip.

   The book leaves a bad taste. It smacks of profiteering by unfairly dragging down Maurice Herzog who does not deserve it. Not recommended.




4. I was pointed toward True Summit by a friend who previously loaned me his copy of Annapurna. Although Herzog made the occasional gracious nod to the contributions of his teammates in Annapurna, overall that account struck me as flat and highly impersonal, almost third-person (even though it was autobiographical!). I found Herzog's raptures on the summit more bizarre than uplifting.

   True Summit added a whole new richness to the Annapurna story. To me, this book was not so much a "debunking" of Herzog's account, as much as filling out the missing dimension. Here, the climbers become real people with individual passions, foibles, and remarkable skills. Clearly Herzog's version diminished the accomplishments of his teammates, but might we say that the end (national pride and financial support for future expeditions) at least partially justified the means (a highly idealized account of the climb -- essentially a propaganda tool)? I particularly was fascinated by the differences between Herzog's initial rendition of the climb and his later "spiritual" retelling -- and both of those stories contrasted against the diaries and conversations of Lachenal, Terray, and Rebuffat. If one man (Herzog) could convince himself of a new version of "truth" -- even in the face of HIS OWN written account! -- then why should we be surprised that the four eyewitnesses have different stories?

   Roberts' overlay of his own climbing history onto the Annapurna story sometimes struck me as self-congratulatory while I read the book. Would this have been as strong a book without Roberts' own story? Maybe so, but I think what he's trying to say is that Herzog was both a great man and a small man during the Annapurna climb... and so were the others. To worship any one of the Annapurna climbers (as Roberts did, one after another) is perhaps to blind ourselves to our own strengths and weaknesses.

   I think the best way to sum up is to say that Herzog's Annapurna was a good story, but True Summit really made me think about teamwork, leadership, and the nature of the "truth" that we tell ourselves and the world.




5. The book is not true to its (sub)title. "What really happened after the legendary ascent and all the gossip" would be much closer to its contents.
   As much as I was interested in the lives of members of the expedition, I had to force myself to go through clumsy, over-gallicized language and juicy details, unrelated to the subject. Why, pray, should one read about somebody's breasts being looked at after a car accident?

   My advice is to go through the bibliography at the end, and to follow writings of the expedition members.

No comments about Gascony, the Pyrenees & Toulouse, 5th (Country & Regional Guides - Cadogan).

2 comments about Time Out South of France: Provence and the Cote d'Azur (Time Out Guides).

1. This guide has really up-to-date information. In addition to quoting all prices in Euros, it also has updated hours for major attractions. It's very useful when going to the Cote d'Azure in off-peak seasons, because you would want to know when the attractions are closed. This guide also has extensive public transportation information, so if you don't rent a car, you will want to have this guide in your hand. The only complaint I have is that the book could use more maps (I strongly recommend getting a comprehensive map for the region you are going). For example, it talks about the village Eze between Nice and Monaco, but then the train only stops at Eze-sur-Mer, which is not on any maps, so you don't know if the two places are close enough to walk or not. Or, it talks about tourist offices in the various towns, and lists the addresses, but there's no map of the town so you can't find those tourist offices. etc.
   Overall, it's a good guidebook.



2. This book is OK; there is a lot on information in here.