5 comments about Adventures on the Wine Route: A Wine Buyer's Tour of France.

1. This book was written in 1988, and therein lies a problem. In general, the book is a charming personal memory of a wine merchant's buying trip in France. It shines most when the book discusses the people who grow wine, or at least in 1988, grew wine. At that time, the wine industry was undergoing basic changes, in the way vines were grown, tended, stored, bottled and shipped. Perhaps a person with extensive knowledge of wine would find the book an interesting snapshot of wine growing/making, but people with less knowledge of wine will not know how, or if, change continued. One of the reasons I bought the book was to provide a non-textbook source of information about wine for a friend who knows little about wine. This book assumes too much of its reader to be useful as a basic instructional tool for such a person.



2. This is a lush, well-balanced and plain smart read.
   
   I have to say the guy's got balls to describe both his wines and his winemakers in such candid, delicious detail. Photos included!



3. This is one of my top ten books about wine. This book focuses on his early days learning about wine. Later, Lynch created a legendary retail wine store in California. His second book, Inspiring Thirst: Vintage Selections from The Kermit Lynch Wine Brochure, reproduces wine offers from the store from 1974 to 2003.
   
   The other reviews here do full justice to Lynch's book; here are some of my favorite quotes from my wine diary.
   
   "We Americans with our New World innocence and democratic sensibilities tend to think all wines are created equal and that differences in quality are simply a matter of individual taste. The French with their aristocratic heritage, their experience and tradition approach wine from another point of view. Just as France had its kings, noblemen and commoners, French wine has its grands crûs, premiers curs, and there is even an official niche for the commoners, the vins de table."
   
   "Wine is, above all, pleasure. Those who would make it ponderous make it dull. People talk about the mystery of wine, yet most don't want anything to do with mystery. They want it all there in one sniff, one taste. If you keep an open mind and take each wine on its own terms, there is a world of magic to discover."
   
   "The taste of the grape told them when to harvest. The taste of the wine told them when to bottle, what sort of oak to employ, the appropriate barrel size, how to prune the different grape varieties, and on and on and on. The traditions varied from village to village depending on differences of grape variety, soil, and microclimate. The traditions that were in place at the beginning of the twentieth century were the result of centuries of trial and error. If the taste of a wine indicated that a steep, stony piece of land produced better wine, then that was the land they worked, regardless of the labor involved. . . . Do not think for a moment that they were ignorant people who did not know better. They seem to have been instinctively directed toward quality. Only in this century have we seen the hard-earned knowledge of the ancients discarded, almost overnight, in the name of progress."
   
   "Real wine is more than an alcoholic beverage. When you taste one from a noble terroir that is well made, that is intact and alive, you think here is a gift of nature, the fruit of the vine eked out of our earth, ripened by our sun, fashioned by man."
   
   "Unlike music, literature or visual arts, a great wine does not require a creative genius. A farmer working his piece of earth can produce something inspiring and profound."
   
   "There is so much contained in a glass of good wine. It is a gift of nature that tastes of man's foibles, his sense of the beautiful, his idealism and virtuosity."
   
   There's so much knowledge in this book, and so much pleasure as well. It may even make my Top Five.
   
   
   Robert C. Ross 2007 2008



4. I bought this book for my daughter as a Xmas present,
   and she loves it as it is so well written. I must add
   that she takes a keen interest in wines and viticulture.



5. Kermit Lynch is knowledge and very passionate about wine and the craft behind it. Reading the book, you are overwhelmed with how passionate he is, all the while being entertained by his stories. A must read.

No comments about Michelin Map No. 585 Valley of the Kings.

5 comments about Little Known Museums in and Around Paris.

1. Racheal Kaplan's Little-Known Musemus in and around Paris includes reviews of thirty museums and appealing subjects such as the homes of famous authors (i.e. Dumas and Balzac), museums of science, and the decorative arts. Ms. Kaplan is an exceptional raconteur and brings Paris alive with her use of interesting anecdotes, historical facts, and high quality photographs. For the Paris traveler that wants to put a human face to this beautiful city, I would recommend Little-Known Museums in and around Paris.



2. Whether you're on your first trip to Paris, or a regular visitor, Rachel Kaplan's "Little Known Museums in and Around Paris is a gem. Forget the crowds at the Louvre and Orsay! Follow Rachel's advice and seek out Balzac's home, Maillol's or Zadkine's sculptures, Delacroix's paintings ... Rachel's scholarship and lively style make you want to leave the beaten track and head for these less-famous, less-crowded, first-rate museums.



3. We own a copy of 'Little Known Museums in and Around Paris', and after over 18 years of visiting Paris and its many Great museums, we found that we still missed 12 out of the 30 museums listed in her book.Now we can't wait to go back and visit these 12 that Ms. Kaplan has so thoroughly and appealingly described, with the many magnificent photos and well researched text, this is a book to savour in an armchair, or to use to preview your next trip. We have already put 'The Fan Museum' and the 'Maurice Ravel Museum' on our 'MUST SEE', for our upcoming summer trip. Thank you for listening.

   Lana & Murray Singer (New York City)




4. Rachel Kaplan's engaging little book is a fascinating guide to some of the many museums in and around Paris that do NOT make it into the big guidebooks. Everyone has heard of the Louvre, the Orsay, even the Musee Rodin, but what about the others? Some of them are small museums run by devoted individuals; at least one (the Musee de la Marine in the Trocadero complex) is, I believe, run by the French government.

   This is a book badly in need of updating. Three years ago, when I used to to visit the Maison de Balzac on Rue Raynouard, the information on transportation, hours, and addresses was of relatively recent vintage and, consequently, more trustworthy.

   While Kaplan's contributions are wonderful and the many black and white and color photographs memorable, the publisher did a very mediocre job of presentation. I do not care for the book's alphabetic orientation and deplore the unhelpful single map.

   One more negative: There are many other small museums in Paris that are not even mentioned in passing, such as the Musee de la Serrure (locks, keys, and door knockers); Musee de la Poste (mail service); Musee Guimet (Oriental art); the new museum of Jewish history near the Pompidou Center -- to mention just a few.

   And yet, I look forward in a couple of weeks to visiting the Musee Delacroix and the Musee Cognac-Jay, neither of which appear in my other guidebooks. This is a very useful book for those who wish to explore lesser-known parts of the City of Lights. I look forward to a new edition which will make it even more useful.




5. We recently used this guide extensively while in Paris for a week. Having done the usual "big name" tourist stops, we were looking for a convenient way to see Paris in-depth. This book met our needs completely. I am looking forward to more work from this author.

No comments about Paris: Photographs from a Time That Was (Distributed for the Art Institute of Chicago).

No comments about Teach Yourself World Cultures: France.

2 comments about The Rough Guide to Paris 10 (Rough Guide Travel Guides).

1. Heavy reading. Not a fun or easy read. Not very user friendly. No pictures of the sites. Informative, but wouldn't recommend this for those traveling to Paris for the first time.



2. Wow, after reading the previous review, I had to write in. I travel frequently, have used nearly every popular guide out there (Fodors, Frommers, Time Out, Lonely Planet, Rick Steves, and my least favorite - Eyewitness Travel), and The Rough Guides are the best and by far the most comprehensive out there. They are chock-full of information. The colored photos are limited to several pages in the front of the book, but if you want to be a traveler (as opposed to being a 'tourist'), you shouldn't need pages of glossy information that just shows you what you will be seeing once you're there anyways! The Rough Guides gives you history, gives you insight into various neighborhoods and areas and people. They go far, far beyond just the 'landmarks' that an area is known for. If you read them before traveling, you'll feel like one of the locals and the more knowledge you have about an area, the more you can enjoy it. I'm sorry if some travelers are sadly uninterested in learning about the cultures of the areas in which they are visiting. Rough Guides are now the only guides that I will use. And if you're bored by the reading, then maybe you should question why you are traveling there! I will say that Rough Guides does not supply you with a very detailed street map stuck to the back cover like some other books offer and so sometimes an additional purchase (or a visit to a tourism office) is warranted. This personally does not bother me.

No comments about Brazzaville Charms: Magic and Rebellion in the Republic of Congo.

No comments about Bristol: City on the Edge.

No comments about Nights in the Big City: Paris, Berlin, London 1840-1930 (Reaktion Books - Topographics).

1 comments about Fast Talk Audio - French (Fast Talk).

1. A mini cd is included with this book, but it's in MP3 format, so you can't use it in a cd player. You can copy it to a cd, which I struggled with (I am a bit audio-challenged, tho.) Once I finally got it copied, I was very disappointed. They only speak the French phrases, not the English. So you would have to read along while listening. Therefore, not good if you're driving or working out.
   I like the concept of an abbreviated book, but the cd is almost useless. Maybe ok for playing on the plane???