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.

1 comments about Insight Guide Germany (Insight Guides Germany).

1. I love these insight guides; very interesting,& packed full of info and beautiful pictures. Gives the traveler a working knowledge of sites to see, customs, history, politics and the ideology of the people of a given region. It is not meant to be an extensive study of an area, but a useful travel guide, and for that purpose it earns 5 stars easily ! It is not a guide of where to stay or where to eat, but it gives useful information about each area covered so that a traveler knows what a locale has to offer and some background on each area. Great to pack in the suitcase or browse in the armchair !

2 comments about Speak in a Week Flash! German: 1001 Flash Cards (Speak in a Week Flash!).

1. The only reason why I bought these cards was that I need to expand my PASSIVE vocabulary in German as fast as possible. But mind you, this set takes you only that far. You can use them to fill up some empty times-lots in your day with meaningful activity. You can even arrange a quiz show with a colleague, friend, or family member who is approximately on the same level as you are.
   
   Let's see the strengths and weaknesses:
   
   + the part of speech is colour-coded (nouns, verbs, adjectives, others)
   + the gender is indicated with the nouns
   
   - sometimes you cannot find the German word even in a good dictionary (or with Google!)
   - sometimes it is not clear which sense of the English equivalent carries the correct meaning (take "cancel" as an example)
   - no example sentences or typical idiomatic expressions for the words are given
   - no plural or genitive ending is given with the German nouns
   - it is not indicated if a German verb belongs to the weak, strong, or mixed category
   
   To sum up, it is a very good idea to give you the first 1001 words you will need in a new language, but the implementation is far from faultless. My cards are filling up with notes and cross-outs and replaced words. I would definitely not recommend this card-set for a true beginner. It is much better for an eternal re-starter like me, who knows too much for a complete beginner's course and can check suspicious words and fill in missing information from a good dictionary.



2. Good choice for a visual and easy learning of some German words.
   Very useful for practising. Almost like a game.
   Nice presentation and cover.

No comments about Karen Brown's Germany, Revised Edition: Exceptional Places to Stay & Itineraries 2008 (Karen Brown's Germany Charming Inns & Itineraries).

4 comments about Germany For Dummies (Dummies Travel).

1. Everything you ever wanted to know about planning a trip to Germany was offered in this easy-to follow, straightforward guide. With tear-out maps, checklists, and top ten lists, this book is all you'll need for your trip. It also covered all the essentials, including hotels, restaurants, nightlife, and attractions in all regions of Germany.



2. For a person traveling to Germany for the first time it is a great introduction on what to expect. Great hints for other types of travel to other countries.
   
   But it gives key places to visit, good itineraries and excellent hints.
   
   Not for an experienced traveler.



3. I was disappointed with this book. It was more interested in where to drink and where to find the gay/lesbian scene in Germany than many of the unique historical sites of the country. If you are looking for a guidebook that helps you find cultural / historical treasures in Germany, this is not the book.



4. I did not find this book of much use during my trip. It did not go deep enough into the attributes of the cities I wanted to visit. I took it with me but did not use it.

5 comments about Wicked German (Wicked Travel Series).

1. Well, the book is sort of funny but really not very useful if you are trying to learn some serious german...the likelly outcome is that you will have a few laughs and thats all....



2. I bought this book figuring it was practical and useful, which for my surprise, was exactly the opposite! It gives you several phrases in German (organized by travel situations and SCENARIOS) which are more of JOKES than helpful statements to use while you are travelling.
   
   If you are a beginner at German idiom, don't buy it. It won't help you at all.
   
   However, if you already speak German, and want to laugh at the CULTURAL ASPECTS of Germany, than this is your book indeed.



3. The Wicked German book is hilarious! Obviously, it's not suitable for any practical use, - you won't learn anything you need to know here - but I laughed my way through the entire book. For that reason alone, I recommend the book to any student of German.



4. And you will love this book! Keep in mind: It is not meant to instruct anyone on how to speak to real-life Germans...it is simply a sarcastic, harmless fun-poking bit of dry humor. If one was silly enough to actually try and use this, he/she might end up with their "hazelnuts in a vise". I live in Germany and have let my German friends take a look at it just to guage their opinions. The result? The humor doesn't translate and they just don't "get it"---they find it neither insulting nor funny.
   
   So just loosen up, enjoy it for what it is and realize that complaints that it's not a 'real' book are useless and moot. Enjoy! Tschuss!
   
   Love and Belly Laughs, TH



5. I bought this along with the companion book "Wicked Italian" as a gag gift for a youthful traveler. We all got a kick out of reading the phrases and the translations around the dinner table. I did not buy it thinking I would be learning to swear in German. As a gag gift it was well worth the money. ($5)

No comments about Time Out Shortlist Berlin (Time Out Shortlist).

5 comments about The Long Walk: The True Story of a Trek to Freedom.

1. This is by far one of the best books I have ever read in my short life. It tells the story of a... well I'm sure you already have a basic gist of what it is about. I digress. It is an increadible read. From page one you are captivated and it is difficult to set down. A great story. As a side note you should most definately read the preface.



2. I really enjoyed this book. although i have read many other concentration camp books, this one is by far the greatest journey. it really puts you in the perspective of this poor man and when something bad happens to him you seem to feel it for yourself! very descriptive!!
   P.S. whoever said "just a story" is utterly wrong and has no brain at all!! it is "just" a gripping story of a man making his way form a concentration camp, all the way down to india. so i do not see how tis can be "just a story"



3. Sunday, March 26, 2006
   "The Long Walk" by Slavomir Rawicz, © 1956
   This is an amazing story. It is incredible that the torturers in the U.S. Army did not read this or take lessons from the KGB, because some of their tortures are very similar to what is described in this book. But that is only in the first two chapters. The rest of the book is the story of Mr. Rawicz's walk with his cohorts from United Soviet Socialist Republic labor camp in Siberia to India. The walk starts with advise to walk south, not east, to avoid the obvious route and, therefore, obvious pursuit.
   The oddest part of this story is that one of the particpants is known only as Mr. Smith. He is an American of unknown origins. No one on this trek is cognizant of the reason of their incarceration, but Mr. Smith is so unknown that even his Christian name is never known. The next oddest part of this story is in the preface. It was supposed to be a story about people who have encountered Yeti. These fellows saw some on their walk through the Himalayas, so the assistant to the author, Ronald Downing, reseaching for a story about the Yeti, came across this amazing story.



4. I bought this book with great anticipation, having read and enjoyed other survival tales such as "Endurance" and "In the Heart of the Sea." I've been slogging through the uninspired language for the past month with great difficulty. The lack of passion Rawicz brings to his writing is perhaps a clue that this is not a true story, as some have attested. Or maybe it's a problem with the translation. Either way, I don't find this to be the gripping tale it could have been.
   
   I should add that I have been reading this under the assumption that it was true. So discovering now that it may not be true has not in any way affected my review; I thought it was boring before then. I wish I had known about the controversy and had picked a different book. Other reviewers have stated that it is an exciting and remarkable story, true or not. I disagree. If it is true it is a dull and lifeless transcription of a remarkable feat. If it is fiction than the author has not only lied but written a boring book.



5. "The Long Walk" is Polish Army officer Slavomir Rawicz's gripping account of an escape from a Soviet labor camp in Siberia in 1941. According to his story, Rawicz and his comrades walked South across the interior of Asia to freedom in British India. This journey across a winter landscape in Siberia, the Gobi Desert in Mongolia, and the mountains of western China and Tibet, is, if true, an unparalleled acount of suffering and human endurance. The BBC claims to have found records indicating that Rawicz was in fact released by the Soviets to a refugee camp in Iran during the Second World War. If these records are accurate, the main event of "The Long Walk" is an enthralling work of fiction. Readers will have to make their own judgement.
   
   Rawicz was a young Polish Cavalry officer taken prisoner by the Soviets when Hitler and Stalin divided Poland in 1939. He is tortured by the Soviets and sentenced as a spy to 25 years in a labor camp in Siberia. The suffering of the winter journey to the labor camp is bad enough, but once there, Rawicz and six of his fellow prisoners hatch an escape plan. One night, they slip away, carrying a small amount of food, a hand axe, and an improvised knife. They will travel cross-country South to Mongolia, along the way picking up a young Polish female who has also escaped from detention. The eight will dare unbelievable hazards, including a chronic lack of food, water, and shelter, to steer more or less South toward India. Only four people will reach safety in India.
   
   Rawicz's narrative is rather bare bones, possibly the result of translation from his native Polish. Traveling by the sun, the small group never has much more than a general sense of where they are or what is in front of them. Their survival is the incredible result of ingenuity and pluck, as the travelers plumb the absolute limits of human endurance and receive timely help from strangers along the way. The reader cannot help but be caught up in the terrible suspense of the story.
   
   Other reviewers have commented that Rawicz's story seems a little too good to be true. Certainly the hazards of the journey would have killed many parties far better prepared; Rawicz and his comrades seem to enjoy astonishingly good luck. "Mr. Smith", the Russian-speaking American in the group, seems especially mysterious and preternaturally self-possessed in the face of their many obstacles. The alleged encounter with two Yeti in the Himalayas strains credibility. Perhaps the best advice for readers is to put aside their skepticism and enjoy the story as presented.

No comments about The Danube Cycleway: Donaueschingen to Budapest.

2 comments about Berlin Made Easy: The Best Sights and Walks of Berlin (Open Road Travel Guides).

1. The best part of this book are the five walking tours (with maps). There's a Berlin Wall Walk along the former Berlin Wall, two walks in former East Berlin and two walks in former West Berlin. These walks are a great way to get to know this great city.



2. This book was great! The eating recommendations were excellent. I was able to travel around Berlin easily and map out what to do and what to see. This is the only book you need for Berlin.