No comments about Secret France: Charming Villages and Country Tours.

No comments about Infinitely Beautiful: The Dessau Worlitz Garden.

2 comments about American Steak & Seafood and Mexican Cuisine Passport (Let's Eat Out!).

1. This book is the size of a passport and very organized and well written. The American Steak & Seafood and Mexican Cuisine Passport is perfect for making choices while traveling, or while dining at your favorite local restaurant.
   
   This guide is extremely to use. It provides sample menus that you'd see at typical Steak & Seafood and Mexican restaurants. Then you are provided with descriptions of each dish and how it is prepared and the ingredients used. From there you are provided with specific considerations as to how the preparation or ingredient list may affect you if you have gluten or food allergy issues.
   



2. I purchased this book from the point of view of someone who cannot tolerate wheat gluten in my food. Unfortunately, I found this book to be completely worthless. As you can imagine, steak, potatoes and vegetables simply don't contain wheat gluten. If you are ordering onion rings, the batter may or may not contain wheat gluten so the book suggests asking the waiter. Few employees have read the ingredient list on the bag of batter or any other pre mixed ingredients.
   
   The book recommends asking the waiter about potential gluten content for almost any food served in the restaurant. I prefer not to depend on a waiter who has 8 other tables to wait on, 3 dinners waiting to be delivered to 2 tables, who may not get along well with the cook and who may have had a fight with his wife before coming on duty - all of which affect his mood and judgment.
   
   While the book contains typical ingredients contained in the Mexican recipes listed, Mexican food recipes differ from cook to cook - often even in the same restaurant. Again, the authors recommend asking the waiter if the foods contain certain ingredients.
   
   Common sense is a far better guide than anything offered in this book.

No comments about Michelin Map No. 513 Normandy (Normandie) France, Le Havre, Caen and Surrounding Area, Scale 1:200,000.

1 comments about Southern France (Charming Small Hotel Guides).

1. This `charming' series sparkles with photographs that stress the beauty of the finest - but not necessarily the costliest - small hotels across Europe (by country). Most hotels get a full page with a clear, revealing photograph, one or two beautifully written descriptive paragraphs and a shaded section with contact info, prices, etc. (Library Journal)

1 comments about The Angel Tree: The Enchanting Quest for the World's Oldest Olive Tree.

1. Food fans of the humble olive will find here not another predictable olive cookbook, of which several are on the market already, but a unique history of the olive tree and a documentation of the quest for the world's oldest olive tree. Strangely enough, a fender-bending encounter between landscape architect Dingwall-Main and a rich Frenchman in Provence led to this horticultural exploration, which could have been featured in our gardening section, but deserves coverage here for its fine focus on olive tree and olive growing history in France, Spain and other European nations. The Angel Tree is simply enchanting.

No comments about Michelin 2003 France.

1 comments about Paris Mon Amour (Evergreen Series).

1. I'm surprised someone hasn't reviewed this book yet. It's quite a treasure.
   
   Some months ago, during an excursion to the Met in NYC, I was feeling a little homesick for Paris, so my eye was immediately drawn to this book. I'm really quite glad that I found it, for it's easily one of my favorite photography books. It actually reads like a book of essays, but in a photographical format. There is an introduction at the front (in French, English, and German) giving a brief background in the history of French photography, but one can easily enjoy the book without bothering with this intro. The pictures pretty much speak for themselves, from mid-19th century Parisian alleyways to the joy on people's faces during the city's liberation in 1944.
   
   First things first: the book is slightly taller than most books, so it may be a little tricky to store on a shelf. I made do, particularly since I use those metal cube shelves you get from Target, which are substantially taller than typical bookshelves. All of the photographs are in black and white, which forms some really nice contrasts and creates an overall sense of timelessness. We're dealing, after all, with Paris from the advent of photography to recent fashion (I believe the latest picture in the book is from the 1980s).
   
   As stated earlier in this review, things like the Liberation are covered, as well as lots of other historical events (the Occupation, the student riots of the 1960s, ect). But these great moments in history are the anomalies. For the most part, the book chooses to focus on everyday events in Parisian life, past and present, like little children skipping rope in the 1920s, or well-to-do ladies watching a horse race at the turn of the last century, or two college students trading a kiss in a bistro in the 1970s.
   
   It's the little touches like this that really bring the city to life. Coming from someone who has lived in Paris twice and considers it another home, this is a very nice compliment, and I think it would make a particularly nice addition to one's coffee table. I only wish it were a little bigger, but it's already over 200 pages, so I guess I'm just trying to prolong a good thing.

3 comments about Blue Guide the Loire Valley (Blue Guides).

1. La tradition d'érudition un peu austère des Guides Bleus Hachette est mise à mal dans cette édition honnête mais sans plus. Le voyageur visitant pour la première fois notre région trouvera le nécessaire, pas le superflu ni ce supplément d'âme qui faisait des Guides Bleus une référence absolue.



2. You will prefer Eyewitness Loire Valley guide book. Dorling Kindersley; ISBN: 0789404265 because of its pictures and detailed visual explanations.



3. I am a big fan of the Blue Guide series, I wouldn't want to go to Europe without one. However, this is one I left at home. The author takes you on a road trip around the Loire Valley and comments on every village he passes through even though most have absolutely nothing in them. The major chateaux are given quite a bit of space, especially their architecture but not much on the historical context. The entire book was very dry. I do not buy the Blue Guides for their advice on how to get around, but I certainly expected something better than this.

No comments about Alpes Du Sud Green Guide (Michelin Green Guides).