4 comments about Baader Meinhof: Pictures on the Run 67-77.

1. The core founders of the Baader Meinhoff group Andreas Baader, Ulrike Meinhof and Gudrun Ensslin {an equal number were women} were murdered in their prison cells by authorities of the wealthy Federal Republic of Germany and then framed as suicides. Astrid Proll was a minor activist who served a jail sentence and then fled to England, she is not representative of this movement and some of her comments are wrong, but the photographs of these fallen young revolutionary's are intriguing.



2. While some of the accounts are informative, this book is simply a blatant project to make money. The crimes committed by the group were hideous and, how better to squeeze a little more out of the publicity by justifying them?

   The photographs in this book are bad, taken by an amateur and tell no story. They're of minimal interest and do nothing to help explain anything of what really went on behind these scenes. I do not understand how the reviewer from the New York times can describe the pictures as "daunting" ad "carefully selected". They're a haphazardly thrown together group of nothing. If these were the best of the bunch, the bad ones must have been terrible.

   I think I might be a little less hostile if this book were a lot cheaper, but I was expecting a lot more substance and pictures of more than marginal interest. My advice would be to try and check this book in the local library first to make sure it is what you thought it was.




3. This book is exactly what it purports to be: a collection of photos documenting the RAF. Astrid Proll's short 1998 narrative and musings on her experiences makes somewhat interesting reading, but this is not a history or work of analysis, and readers who are seeking such will be disappointed. _Pictures on the Run_ serves as a unique and invaluable accompaniment to Stefan Aust's volume, and should be seen as such. If the reader isn't already familiar with the photo subjects, s/he will only be perplexed by the single line captions. If like me, however, you are intrigued by the RAF and the Deutsche Herbst, you will keep this book beside you as you read Aust, Becker, Vague, and Baumann. You will return to the pictures again and again, and some of the faces will haunt you.



4. VERY INTERESTING! - A must for anyone interested in BAADER MEINHOF! The pictures tell quite a story. The whole book can be used as a suppliment to the other BAADER MEINHOF reading!

No comments about Michelin the Green Guide Berlin and Potsdam (Michelin Green Guide: Berlin and Potsdam).

No comments about Berlitz Berlin City Guidemap (Berlitz City Guidemaps).

No comments about Germany (Countries of the World).

4 comments about Frommer's Germany 2007 (Frommer's Complete).

1. This book is somewhat helpful. I needed information on a specific part of Germany so I had too much information. Maybe a book on just a section of Germany would have been better for me.



2. I'm a Frommer's level traveler. Their Germany guide is quite good. My wife, who is a novice traveler to Germany found it particularly helpful, as it gives impressions as well as facts.



3. The book was not as helpful as Lonely Planet's book on Germany. The Frommer's did include a pull-out map of Berlin and Munich, but if you weren't going there, you were out of luck.



4. I've used Frommers books for several countries as well as Outer Banks. The city/ area maps are good, not hand-drawn like those of a certain popular Europe writer/ pbs-tv host. Big maps in back are not needed if you're taking train, and probably not enough if you rent a car. I never rent a car when overseas, so don't need that big map. This is a guidebook, not a mapbook, so if you rent a car, get a real map. The use of colored text is consistent throughout Frommers and easy to read and find items. Guidebook style preferences depend on the traveler and their style.

3 comments about Adventure Guide to Germany (Adventure Guides Series) (Adventure Guides Series).

1. Great to see a guidebook on Germany in English by an author who realizes that Germany is more than Berlin, the Rhine, and Bavaria. Not that the well-known areas are neglected but I particularly enjoyed the wide coverage on the former East German regions.
   
   The two great Saxon cities Leipzig and Dresden are covered in detail but even more impressive is the coverage of the lesser-known sights in Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The guide has all the information needed to arrange a trip to see the Romanesque architecture in Saxony-Anhalt and the marvelous brick Gothic on the Baltic Coast. I also enjoyed the half-timber houses in the Harz region - can't decide whether Quedlinburg or Hildesheim were the more impressive. And the author was right, we never saw or heard another English speaker for days while touring these regions.
   
   This guidebook is thick but not too heavy. It is packed with tightly written information in an easy to use format. I liked the numerous small black-and-white photos that go with the text even more than the color inserts. A great and useful guide.



2. Of the three Germany guidebooks I used, this one was the most useful and not only because it covers so many places that the others simply ignored. Although you never get 10% off for showing this book, it has enough sensible advice on how to shave unnecessary expenses off the budget without ever feeling or acting like a cheapskate.
   
   I enjoyed the author's explanation of Germany's complex history but others may like the "History Cheat Sheet" that reduces six pages of history to a half page summary. Although the author has the ability to focus on the essentials, he (she?) drops enough fascinating tidbits to keep it interesting. I also love the explanation of major trends in German culture, arts, music, and literature.
   
   The author clearly has opinions but never treats the reader like an idiot or writes down to you in any sense. As a non-German speaker I also loved the way all German terms are translated throughout the guide not expecting me to suddenly remember what is a kirch or Schloss halfway through the book.
   
   The accommodation lists are very useful especially as it focuses on the around 80-120 per night middle to upper class hotels that suit my tastes. However, even the lower priced hotels all have private bathrooms, which to me is rather essential when on vacation.



3. The information in this book is good but the organization is problematic when you are on the go. Having to look up cities by region was confusing to me. It is also a bit big for carrying around.

1 comments about Lonely Planet Frankfurt: Condensed (Lonely Planet Condensed Guides).

1. I bought this book during an extended stay in Frankfurt, to get to know the city. I was so happy with my purchase because it didn't weigh itself down with wordy descriptions of hotels, etc. Instead, this is a very practical, carry-with-you book that gives great ideas for food, shopping, entertainment and activities. The best part about it was that I felt that it gave you the highlights of the city up front, then showed what other things you'd like once you covered the not-to-be-missed stuff. A great section also is Quirky Frankfurt. You get a great idea of the special things about the city throughout the book.

   I think this is useful for younger travelers who are looking for what to see, where to eat and where to hang out. It's also perfect for longer-term visitors and people new to the city.

5 comments about Born in the Big Rains: A Memoir of Somalia and Survival (Women Writing Africa).

1. Can you imagine being born into a Somalian nomad family, and then, because of illness and the luck
   of the tribe, being transported first, to a life of relative luxury, in the capitol city and ultimately to
   Germany? The transition from one distinct culture to another in Europe reminds all of us of the need
   to respect those aspects of traditions which bind people together and try to alter, as humanely as possible,
   those traditional practices that do injury, particularly to women. This is a wonderful, courageous story.



2. Excellent - very enlightening to a women's crisis and so well written.



3. This book is very well written. It makes the reader aware of female circumcision and the problems associated with it.



4. The first portion of this book follows the young nomad Fadumo as she travels and wanders with her family in Somalia. The descriptive writing of Somalia and the scenes laid before the reader are simply breathtaking.
   Then we follow the young girl as she undergoes FGM (female genital mutilation), becomes ill and travels to Germany for medical treatment. Eventually she marries and becomes a fighter against FGM.
   A must-read for those wanting to see a woman's life in Africa and how FGM affects the young woman's life.
   It is also an interesting read about the choices she takes in her life and the other women in her family who remain subservient and stuck.
   Although how much of this is determined by her father who let her live with one uncle who was very giving and caring ---while her sister Khadija ended up with another uncle who was abusive and cruel.
   In closing, this book is a quick read and you won't be disappointed.



5. The horrors of female circumcision - something long since banned in the Western world, it is still practiced in many African Countries. "Born in the Big Rains: A Memoir of Somalia and Survival" is author and feminist Fadumo Korn's story of nearly dying to the barbaric practice and her rise to becoming a spokesman against the practice. A harsh and much needed criticism against the atrocity of female genital mutilation, "Born in the Big Rains: A Memoir of Somalia and Survival" has the highest recommendation to community library women's studies collections as a bastion against this cruelty that far too many young girls in the world have been exposed to.

No comments about Berlin Wall Trail (Cycline).

No comments about Dusseldorf (CitySpots) (CitySpots).