1 comments about Lonely Planet Los Angeles: Condensed (Lonely Planet Los Angeles Condensed).

1. Though I've never been to Los Angeles, the art and writing in this little book are super-crisp. I can't imagine a better guide to Los Angeles!

3 comments about Moon Metro Los Angeles: Unfold the City (Moon Metro).

1. L.A. is not a walking city. I loved these maps that helped me navigate the different areas of L.A.. Everything is clear: freeway exits, shopping and clubs districts. Really good guide for hanging out in L.A.



2. This book really helped while my husband and I went to L.A. for a vacation. The book has highlighted the most interesting areas of the city and made the ciy managable. Each highlighted area has its own fold out map with places to see and things to do. This is a great feature for driving around the city because you don't have a huge map to deal with (so chances are you won't wreck the rental car). Each highlighted area has infomation and a bit of history provided. The book also has pages in the back with detailed descriptions of interesting sites, resturants, hotels, etc. This book helps the tourist explore one area at a time. I highly recommend this book, and the metro moon series for the traveler.



3. On a recent visit to LA, I needed an easy-to-use resource just to get my bearings around this expansive and convoluted city. This led to my purchase of the Moon Metro guide, which is as sleek a handbook as one could envision for the visiting tourist. In my subsequent and constant usage of the book, I became increasingly disenchanted with the fragmentation of its presentation, as its editors focus on nine selected tourist areas rather than looking at the city from a navigational standpoint. On the plus side, the guidebook starts with helpful fold-out maps of the nine areas with key attractions identified and located. The nine areas are Santa Monica/Venice, Westwood/UCLA, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood/Melrose, La Brea/Fairfax, Hollywood, Los Feliz/Silverlake, Downtown/Little Tokyo/Chinatown, and further afield, Pasadena.
   
   The rest of the book consists of listings within those areas under the sections - sights, restaurants, nightlife, shops, art and leisure, and hotels. The trendy and well-trodden are included but also some interesting idiosyncratic recommendations like the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust on Wilshire. However, the parts ultimately do not add up to a useful whole, at least for anyone looking for a more cohesive view of the city. If you want to go to any attraction outside of the areas, for example, the Huntington Library, Universal Studios or the Getty Center, you may find mention of them in some generalized map or not at all.
   
   More problematic is how there is little guidance given on using the freeways or major thoroughfares to get from one area to the other. Unlike New York, LA is a city of scattered jewels very often separated by miles and miles of congested roadway. It seems the format of the Moon Metro guide is more conducive to more urbanized spaces whose attractions are within walking and subway commuting distances. Granted the book is a nice portable size, but you will still need to purchase an extensive city map and likely a more comprehensive tourbook of the area to make sure you take the most advantage of your trip to LA.

1 comments about Thomas Guide 2001 Los Angeles Country: Street Guide and Directory (Thomas Guide Los Angeles County Street Guide & Directory).

1. Thomas guides are in general the most detailed and most readable guides around, a hard combination to get. It's a must-have for a sprawling area like Los Angeles.

   However, this year's edition has left out the fold-out comprehensive guide map and its paper is noticably weaker - both of which make a big difference in trying to search through its many spiral-bound pages.

   Also, all editions now have zip codes and boundaries overlaid in big bold print, even larger and darker than the city names. On most pages, this merely makes it more difficult to find street names. On some, it makes it impossible.

   Thomas Guides have been the best around, but not this one. Look for an old one, or hope that they change back next year

4 comments about Horny? Los Angeles.

1. As a relationship author from Los Angeles, I found this book to be a real eye-catcher. This book is beautifully designed from a book production point-of-view and is a handy guide for sexually curious people.

   It seems like more of a guy's book, but there are lots of contributions from women in this fascinating collection of sexy ideas. While topless bars may not be of interest or value to most women and even some guys, I found the "Rules of the Lap Dance: Do's & don'ts from a private dancer" to be a good read. There's also information of hotspots in not-to-far San Francisco, Las Vegas, Tijuana, and Palm Springs.

   It's also like a restaurant guide or tour book except that the establishments serve up a different kind of menu. That menu includes strip clubs, porn shops, adult toy stores, lingerie shops, spas/massage parlors, some kinky history, porn star interviews, singles bars, escort services, late-night pick-up joints, stories of rock star groupies, celebrity clubs, nude beaches, happening hotels, and even places to "make out." (Is this high school again?)

   The publisher promises new editions for New York, San Francisco, Chicago, and Las Vegas in the near future. That New York edition should give new meaning to "Sex and the City."

   I give this a 5 star rating for the ideas it triggers and for the excellent formatting. But the real question is whether this information is really a benefit or just something interesting to read about. As a travel-tour book it's price of $18.95 may be in line. As something interesting to read, however, the price of the book is $4 too high.

   In the meantime, this book should probably sell a ton regardless.




2. This book is just a book mostly on strip clubs, shopping, and night clubs. This book might be good for men who are trying to locate the ultimate strip club, or where to pick up a bimbo, but for anything else...forghettaboutit! I personally bought the book to find out how they rated some of the swinging clubs, but there was only a mention of two. Out of all the swing clubs, underground sex clubs and parties out here in Los angeles...they only mention two. Oh yea..if youre looking for a good spa to get a facial or something, or shopping for sex toys and sexy clothes...its cool! But if youre looking for all the places where you can have some crazy sexual fun in Los Angeles... forgettaboutit! Keep looking!



3. Voltaire once said "Work saves us from three great evils: boredom, vice and need." But hey, we all need some vice every now and then, mostly we need vice now! It seems like these two writers, Hundley and Guzik, really dug deep into the Los Angeles underbelly, did their gumshoe work and came out with an excellent guide to not only Sex, but dare I say, a great book on the beatific city of Los Angeles. This book has everything you'd ever want to know about Sex in Los Angeles, but didn't have the druthers, or knew the right questions, to ask. Also, the writing (funny as all get out) is worth the price of admission alone, not to mention all the sex info. Buy it and you won't be disappointed!



4. This book kept me in stitches. Written with so much clever humor. I am a straight woman who wants to know about what's up in my fair city. Now I want to grab the husband and hit some of these clubs after reading the guide.

No comments about Thomas Guide 2009 Easy To Read Los Angeles County.

No comments about Insight FlexiMap Los Angeles.

1 comments about Los Angeles by Night ( A City Sourcebook for VAMPIRE: The Masquerade).

1. L.A. by night provides a lot of information on the geography and politics of the first Free State. After reading New York by Night it appeared as though the Anarchs were nothing more than angry Camarilla children. This was probably due to the new storyline that White Wolf is trying to run with. L.A., as described in this book, is a place that is relatively free from Camarilla domination. The Anarchs don't like the Camarilla or the Sabbat. They are portrayed as vampires who care for nothing but personal freedom. The book provides a lot of places of interest to Anarch vampires and even provides story hooks for Camarilla and Sabbat players. This is a good city book for Vampire the Masquerade. It would have been at the top of my list of city source books but Montreal by Night still reigns supreme.

No comments about Zagatsurvey 2000/2001 Los Angeles Marketplace: Guide to the City's Top Food and Entertaining Resources (Zagat Survey: Los Angeles Marketplace).

3 comments about Moving to Los Angeles: The Practical Companion to Your New City, from Stepping in to Stepping Out (Moving to... Series).

1. I travel for a living and absolutely need guides to help me navigate. This book is not only the best I've found but the most affordable too. A must for anyone visiting Los Angeles.



2. Chapter Two of this book is titled, "Choosing a Neighborhood". The chapter goes from page 18 to page 95. While that may sound like a lot of information, much of it is not as useful as you would think, and is probably out of date since this book was published in 1996. Not all the neighborhoods are listed, and those that are, are clumped together, for instance, "Hollywood, Hollywood Hills and West Hollywood." If you've ever been to LA, you'll know that this covers quite a bit of territory and these areas are related only by their geographical location. The feel of the different neighborhoods is quite different. The author doesn't go into enough detail about the neighborhoods to allow you to make a well-informed decision of where you want to look for a residence. Then, as if to take up space in order to justify charging a higher price for a 220 page book, the author lists where to eat in each neighborhood, and where you can find the police station, libraries, hospitals, landmarks, etc. This is info that is listed in the yellow pages. You'll find that info out when you move. Give us pages filled with information that will really help us choose a neighborhood. Write something helpful like, "If you live in the upper part of the Hollywood Hills, it will probably take you half an hour to get to work if you work in Century City, and 45 minutes to downtown LA." Something useful. Also, since this book was published in 1996, many of the places to eat and grocery stores may not even be there any more. Or there may be better places built since then. Leave that space-wasting info out of the book. If I had been able to review this book in a bookstore before I bought it, I wouldn't have bought it.



3. Avoid this book! It is a waste of money. I just moved to LA from the east coast and this book provided very little useful information. For starters, most of the telephone numbers that are provided are either disconnected or wrong. Also, much of the information on setting up utilities is outdated. The grossest errors, however, can be found in the chapter on neighborhoods, where prices are given for different types of apartments and houses. I found all of them to be $200 - $500 a month less than the actual prices of housing out here. I am sure that there must be more accurate moving guides out there somewhere. If not, then go it alone. You will be better off finding the information yourself than trusting this guide!

No comments about Fodor's Los Angeles 2009: With Disneyland and Orange County (Fodor's Gold Guides).