No comments about The Rough Guide to The Algarve Map (Rough Guide City Maps).

5 comments about The Seventh Wonder.

1. This is an engaging, well-written travel book. I loved all the details about the destinations,the history about the wonders and their links to contemporary society.
   
   The research is superb and thorough; I loved the idea of including GPS coordinates.
   
   I highly recomnend this book to travelers and history fans.



2. This is a thought provoking, educational, sacrilegious, hysterically funny, and practical travel guide. Or is it a study of historically significant architecture, the cultures that built it and the effect of those people and their construction on society thereafter, infused with GPS coordinates, cuisine commentary, bathroom humor and international pickup lines. I just finished reading the book twice in two days and cannot figure out if I was more entertained or enlightened. I'm motivated to trace the author's footsteps, avoid his pitfalls (literally), and capture the real life Indiana Jones experience of which the author wrote. Come to think about it, I did have that experience from my couch. The writing is first rate without being condescending. The book reads as fast and easy as a supermarket tabloid, which initially conceals the author's intelligence, the vast research that he must have done, and his knowledge of history. The author's fabulous sense of humor and insightful commentary on society and religion never make history books or travel guides, which therefore makes this book ultimately unclassifiable, with the exception of a great thought provoking book from which to simultaneously learn and laugh.



3. I actually went on the Egypt leg of the trip with the author, and I was pleasantly surprised at how well this book was written and how damn funny it is. Some of our misadventures on the trip made me so mad, the author and I did not speak for five years.
   
   In any case, Juan mixes history with a generous slab of humor and sprinkles it liberally with his superb wit to produce a fantastic falafel of a travelogue. A few good stories were left out like the guy at the bazaar who begged us to buy two King Tut paperweights or his child would not get the kidney transplant. (feigned urgency is a common sales tactic). The GPS coordinates are a nice touch as are the cross references to relevant books to learn more about this topic or that.
   
   This is certainly a book worth having just in case these seven wonders get blown to smithereens in the current WAR OF TERROR (oops, I mean war ON terror)... if things continue down the current path, we may never get to enjoy these wonders again. Oh well, it'll all be for a good cause. Like driving SUVs...



4. The Seventh Wonder is part solid history book and part entertaining travel chronicle. This book details the author's expedition to rediscover the world's seven ancient wonders: the Colossus of Rhodes, the Tomb of King Mausolus, the Temple of Diana, the Statue of Zeus, The Great Pyramids, the Lighthouse of Pharos, and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. The author took a three week vacation to locate and stand at the original locations of each of these ancient masterpieces. Though all but The Great Pyramids stood in forgotten ruin, the author's only regret at the end of his trip was that due to the war in Iraq he could not visit and verify the seventh wonder, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
   
   The Seventh Wonder contained the perfect blend of background information about the purpose, construction, and stories surrounding each ancient wonder with the author's travel experiences while in Greece, Egypt, and Turkey. It's such a shame that structures that defined such hope, culture, and the life energy of so many peoples could crumble into disrepair, ruin, and the locations lost in time. Despite this, I think that an expedition to rediscover these sites would be an amazing journey. Until, I can book my own tour, The Seventh Wonder is a great alternative.



5. I loved this book! JC Villar is a wonderful writer; I felt as though I was right there with him to the extent that I could almost visualize some of the places he describes. He manages to impart a deep knowledge of the history and culture without being pedantic - he just casually slips it in. And his asides are hilarious! If you enjoy Bill Bryson, you'll love this book. Can't wait to read about more of JC Villar's travels and adventures.

No comments about The Cyclades, or Life Among the Insular Greeks (3rdguide).

No comments about Voyage (Palisades Pure Romance).

No comments about Kefalonia (Greece).

4 comments about A Guide to Ethnic Food in Los Angeles: Restaurants, Markets, Bakeries, Specialty Shops for the Food of Cambodia, China, Ethiopia, Greece, Guatemala,.

1. When this book first came out about 10 yrs. ago or more it was a revelation. In one collection it guided you through EVERY major ethnic community in the greater L.A. region and told you which were the best restaurants, bakeries, markets, etc. I don't know of any other book that comes to close to being this comprehensive & incisive.

   If you ever spend any time in L.A. & you are interested in ethnic food, you must have this book.




2. This is the greatest book on the best ethnic restaurants in LA. Hopefully, the author will put out a new edition. I have it. It's about 10 years old, and I'm not going to sell it. It's better than any new guide out there. Even if you don't go to these places, it's an interesting read.



3. This is a fantastic compendium of ethnic food in LA. It gives you everything you'd ever want to know: best bakeries, best markets, best restaurants. It divides categories by geography (important in LA) & by ethnic cuisines.

   While the 1992 printing will make some info out of date (restaurants for example), this book is one of a kind & the best in its genre.




4. Although 13 years old, much of the info in this book is still relevant. Despite the youthfulness of Los Angeles, there are restaurants and markets that have managed to survive for decades. These places are invariably great and almost institutions in their community. Hence, many of the listings in Burum's book still survive in this megapolis. You'll have fun tracking down that obscure German sausage maker who has had his shop for some 30 years...as well as the occassional let down upon discovering that the old Japanese immigrant, who made fresh tofu daily at the back of his grocery store, decided to call it quits a few years ago.
   
   This book is not only a guide to the ethnic markets in LA, but also serves as an introduction to the cuisine of LA's ethnic groups. Interspersed within the listings, you'll find glimpses into the history of LA's immigrant communities, and what they really eat that you don't get at the mainstream ethnic restaurants. If you're the type that prefers to eat where you're the only one not of the ethnic group the restaurant caters to, get this book. It lets you in on not just the basics of a people's cuisine, but makes you feel comfortable with the unfamiliar (and much more authentic] dishes.
   
   The book is organized into the following chapters, which fairly represents the demographics of Los Angeles:
   China; Japan; Korea; Thailand; Vietnam; Southeast Asian [Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Phillipines]; India; Mexico; Central/South America and Caribbean; Europe; Greece, the Middle East and Africa.
   
   Overall, an indispensable introduction to LA's greatest asset: It's diversity of people and cuisine.

No comments about Meteora: History of the monasteries and monasticism.

No comments about Middle East;: A record of travel in the countries of Egypt, Palestine, Iraq, Turkey and Greece;.

1 comments about Byzantine and Medieval Greece: Churches, Castles and Art of the Mainland and Peloponnese.

1. This is an outdated but exceptionally useful guide to Byzantine Greece. Although the driving directions sometimes veer toward ekphrastic compositions in both complexity and ambiguity, the descriptions of sights provide astute assessments of the history remaining to be seen. The layout and indexes are quite good. In addition to providing insightful coverage of churches and monasteries, it provides a fulsome view of Byzantine fortifications and their significance. An alternate title might well be "The Byzantinist's Guide to Greek Castles and Churches"!

No comments about Lonely Planet Lo Mejor de Atenas 1 (Spanish Guides).