No comments about Dublin Burial Grounds & Graveyards.

No comments about Golf Map Ireland (Collins Maps).

1 comments about Dublin.

1. Well, I have been purchasing a bunch of things prior to my upcoming summer vacation to Ireland (most of which are from Amazon!). I bought this book, mainly because it was just released and I thought it would give me the most recent view of the city. Not knowing exactly what to expect, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. This is a beautiful book, something you would be proud to display on a coffee table. With beautiful, colorful pictures of the city I felt that as a foreigner someone was actually holding my hand and leading me around the city and sharing the most beautiful sought after areas. Not only does the author show pictures of the outside of many landmarks, the pictures inside the buildings are just as spectacular, showing many hidden treasures. Interdisbursed between the pictures are historic tidbits which left me craving for more. I learned a lot about this beautiful city of my ancestors and I can honestly say that I can't wait to go now and see it in person. When I return, I will spend hours reading this book again to see the places I visited. I loved this book and highly recommend it to everyone!

1 comments about How the English Made the Alps.

1. "How the English Made the Alps" pretty much achieves exactly what the title suggests. The book provides an excellent chronological account of how English visitors started by exploring and climbing in the Alps, and then went on through "health tourism" and the pursuit of winter sports to develop the region commercially.

   Ring has clearly done pretty exhaustive research into the topic, particularly on the conquests of various mountain peaks. He conveys the initial scientific endeavour that spurred climbers on, and also manages to communicate the eccentricity of pursuing alpine "conquest" once the scientific rationale had disappeared.

   Given the title, there is a strong Anglo-bias to the writing which perhaps underplays some of the contributions from other countries - foreign climbers are seen generally in the light of competitors and foils for English advances. Again, with the constraints of the title, there is little of the early history of the region in the volume. These are minor quibbles, however, in what is overall a very good account. It is a shame that Fleming's "Killing Dragons" was published so close to this - you wait years for a decent account of the development of the Alps, and then two come along at once. There is enough difference between the two, however, that readers will benefit from reading both.

No comments about Ireland Map by ITMB (Travel Reference Map).

No comments about Georgia: A Rebel in the Caucasus.

No comments about The Good Gardens Guide: The Essential Independent Guide to the 1200 Best Gardens, Parks and Green Spaces in Britain, Ireland and the Channel Islands (Good Gardens Guide).

5 comments about Rome (Pallas Guides).

1. Brilliant! I've been to Rome five times with this book... although it was concise enough to give me an excellent overview even by the first time.



2. Did you ever run across a guidebook that, at the same time, 1) gives you a brilliantly clever and comprehensive choice of information about the sites and 2) allows you to get to each site in the easiest, quickest way?
   
   I didn't, until I found "Rome" by Mauro Lucentini. That double record is especially remarkable in a city like Rome, where the various sights may have lifespans of up to 2,800 years requiring equally monumental explanations, and/or be concealed into corners of a labyrinthine ancient habitat, where you can easily lose your way. With 700-plus pages, Lucentini's book may be a bit heavy to carry, but it is an incredible pleasure to read, and you will be thankful for each page, so fascinating is every bit of the information provided - no other Roman guide comes even close to the amount of historic or artistic background supplied - and for the fact that it will lead you in front of every item by the hand.
   
   Also, the book is structured in such a way that, if you care doing it, you are able to read a good half of it and digest quite a lot of information even before you leave for your destination, This is a quality no other guidebook I know possesses, at least not to such an extent.



3. Terrific Book. Detailed descriptions of this glorious city. Every traveler to Rome should use it as reference.



4. This book is a wonderful foray into the many aspects and history of Rome, and can be enjoyed sitting in New York, as well as walking in Rome. I've taken many of the walks, and the book is a chatty, fun, and erudite companion, pointing out all of the (almost) hidden traces of centuries past. A must for travelers in Italy (or just in your armchair)!



5. I have a shelf full of guides to Rome but when I bought this last year I threw away the rest of the shelf. It is simply fantastic. I have been a book reviewer for thirty years and never thought I would 'go overboard' about a book but this is everything I wanted. Personal, informed, entertaining, reliable, surprising, instructive, accessible, logical, practical.......I run out of words. It's great to read before during and after you visit Rome - only drawback is it's too bulky to carry around with you but take notes! Use it as your bible. Rome (Pallas Guides)

5 comments about The Road To Kosovo: A Balkan Diary.

1. I felt like I was there with Campbell as he tried to sort out the good guys from the bad guys without getting shot by either. His analysis of the Balkan quagmire, while presented in clear, logical language, does not give me much hope for a happy ending anytime soon over there. I understand Campbell is going back over there shortly. I look forward to reading what his take is on the changes that have occured since his last visit.



2. I have never read a more cynical writer than Campbell. He shows no restraint in his description of Kosovo,in his opinion,nothing more than ugly brown hills with "ragged" natives. He spends much of his time ridiculing albanians and where they live.I used to live in Kosovo,and i can assure you it wasn't that bad. As for the serbs,they get treated a bit differently. Apparently,the serbs aren't really bad people,just led by manipulative leaders. Utter nonsense. Serbs might not agree with Milosevic on most things,but they agreed with him on Kosovo. Blaming evil leaders is far too convenient.



3. The Road to Kosovo A Balkan Diary was a good fast read. I found his experiences similar to a "road trip" I had taken through the R.S. and Croatia with Bosniak License Plates while on vacation during my year working for the U.N. The book gives you a good feel for a foreigner's impression of the area.



4. Well,first of all I must admit that I'm halfway the book now but I'm already able to recommend this book. I had a library copy at home when I bought this book and to be honest I was sorry I did that because I could read the book for free BUT in the very first pages thanks to the writing of Mr.Campbell I have congratulated this book for getting a place in the bookshelf of mine called "Only the best books I've ever read in my life". This book is so good as it tells things as they were.Mr.Campbell tells the truth and doesnt sympathise anybody except the justice. His writing is amazing and you wouldn't be surprise when you get transfered so easily into a strange world full of mysteries. I try to buy every single book about my country and I have plenty of those but "The Road to Kosovo" is the best one. I'll finish by saying -Even if you read 100 books in this subject you wont be able to find as much true information as in this one. And YOU'LL GET TO KNOW THE BOSNIA,KOSOVA AS YOU KNOW YOUR OWN COUNTRY - AND THAT'S ALL THANKS TO GREG CAMPBELL



5. I think this book details why politicians and large political / military organizations like NATO have such a difficulty in successfully performing low level military conflicts like the peacekeeping effort in the Yugoslavia region. This book details by representing the destruction and ongoing fighting, just how ineffective the peacekeeping process was at the start due to a half-hearted commitment by the political leaders. The military in the conventional sense, is not a police force or social working group, the purpose of the military is to destroy the enemy. When asking this force to go about a job they are not designed for with one hand tied behind their back and the constant fear of every decision being second-guessed, is there any surprise that the effort did not work for some time.

   I think this book provides one with a good start to understanding the civil war in Kosovo. I think one would need more details to have a better understanding of what will need to take place for this area to live in peace. A good follow up would be to read Waging Modern War by Wesley Clark.

No comments about Ireland (Exploring Countries of the Wor).