1 comments about Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Plunges into New Jersey.

1. So far, about half way through the book and I find the acticles as good or better than the General BR series. I love American History, and this book is quite an addictive read! Thomas Edison and Albert Einstein would be proud, as they are both written about as New Jersey residents.

4 comments about A Visit to Don Otavio: A Traveller's Tale from Mexico.

1. Sublime. I am profoundly uninterested in Mexico, but it charmed my socks off. Wonderfully written. Up there in the clouds with Paula Fox, William Trevor, Alice Munro.



2. The understated writing and excellent descriptions tell all about this 1952 visit to Mexico. Charming and entertaining. But I did skip the chapter on the history of Mexico.



3. This is an absolutely charming but non-sacchrine account of travel in Mexico following World War II. A surprisingly important bonus is a better understanding of the history of this country and why it is what it is today. Wonderful. I will read it again.



4. I've enjoyed this travel book more than any I've read in a long time. Educational and enjoyable. Anyone who has done any traveling anywhere can have a good chuckle at the culture clashes that come from traveling in Mexico or any country where you're not familiar with the customs. These women weren't afraid of adventure and certainly found plenty of it! In spite of the frustrations of things not always going their way, they never resort to racial slurs or any real putdowns of the people they meet. And what a trip. They saw some of the most beautiful parts of Mexico before they've become over-run with tourists. I think the spirit in which they travel is something more people need when going to a foreign country. Go with the flow and everything will work out in the end. A wonderful read.

1 comments about History of Copper Canyon and the Tarahumara Indians: Unknown Mexico and the Silver Magnet.

1. Copper Canyon (Barranca de Cobre) in Mexico is comparable to the Grand Canyon in size and grandeur. It is the home of the Tarahumara Indians, famous for their long-distance running. I bought this book at the Jesuit Mission store in the town of Creel on the rim of the Canyon.
   
   "History of Copper Canyon" contains the text of two previously-published books about Copper Canyon. "Unknown Mexico" (1902)by Carl Lumholtz describes the canyon region, its inhabitants, and the culture of the Tarahumara. The second book is "Silver Magnet" (1937) by Grant Shepard which is about an American family that owned a large silver mine in the town of Batopilas, deep inside the Canyon. "Silver Magnet" is a fascinating tale of an American living in Mexico during the violent era of dictator Porfirio Diaz and bandit revolutionary Pancho Villa. It's a saga of the old West with a Mexican flavor.
   
   Separating the texts of the two books are about 30 excellent quality color photographs of the canyon region and its people. The inside front cover has a added tidbit of interest: the story of a Jesuit missionary and the realization of his dream to build a hospital for the Tarahumara in the late 20th century.
   
   Given what this book offers, it's a bargain! And for the traveler, an auto trip down the canyon to Batopilas is magnificient -- and terrifying. The train ride along the rim has been called the most adventurous in the world.
   
   Smallchief

2 comments about Desert Wetlands.

1. Lucien Niemeyer and Thomas Lowe Fleischner's Desert Wetlands is a 'must' for any collection focused on ecology and desert environments. 'Desert wetlands' may seem an inconsistent term, but there are indeed wetlands in the desert, as photographer Lucian Niemeyer and environmental scientist Thomas Fleischner demonstrate. While Niemeyer photographs such wetlands in Arizona, Utah and New Mexico, among other states, naturalist Fleischner provides stories about water and his encounters with desert wetlands during his field research in the southwest.



2. All our states have wetlands. But the wetlands in the Chihuahuan, Great Basin, Mojave and Sonoran deserts play a much more important role than wetlands in the east. For northern birds and mountain animals migrate down south to these deserts for food, mating and water. They can't count on water from rainfall. The area's so hot rain dries back into the air. That's exactly why they're called deserts. The original word in Latin means abandoned or forsaken. And deserts have been abandoned or forsaken by water.
   
   But that's in terms of rain water. In fact, these deserts have water. The water's found in areas called wetlands. Wetland water comes from three sources. One's mountain snow melting in spring and fall. Much of that water stays in mountain bogs, lakes and ponds dammed by beavers. But some always trickles into the deserts during the summer. Another's the underground water table. That's becoming a problem. More cattle-grazing also means more cows drinking water. More people working, playing and living in the areas means more Americans using water.
   
   The last source is area rivers, such as the Rio Grande and the San Pedro, San Juan, Escalante and Colorado rivers. All the great area rivers start out as source number 1. For they trace back to melted snow of the Cascade, Rocky, San Juan and Sierra Nevada mountains. River water's also becoming a problem. More cattle tanks, dams, reservoirs and stock ponds change river water levels and routes. Changed water levels and routes will change living conditions for area plants, bugs, birds and animals.
   
   Specifically, two main types of plant communities grow up along southwest rivers. One's a mixed broadleaf of willow, walnut, sycamore, cottonwood, ash and alder. That's usually found along rocky streams. The other's a forest of cottonwoods and willows. That's usually found on flooded sand, gravel and clay plains. But non-native Russian olive in the north and tamarisk in the south are giving native cottonwoods and willows a beating. White pelicans and sandhill cranes see native trees as familiar landmarks of desert wetland homes. In fact, cottonwoods and willows are homes to more breeding birds than anywhere else in North America. Breeding birds and their babies find the healthest foods, full of proteins and vegetables, in cottonwood and willow leaves full of insects.
   
   Desert wetlands make up only 3.5% of total U.S. lands. But after tropical rainforests, they're the world's second largest supporters of plant, bug, bird and animal life. Also, they're homes to 50% of all our endangered animals. It all comes down to link after link between native plants, bugs, birds and animals built up over time in one area.
   
   Photographer Lucien Niemeyer and writer Thomas Lowe Fleischner have come up with an impressive book. The writing's clearly organized. The photographs are stunning. The examples are to-the-point. The last chapter's followed by a list of all plants and animals covered by the book. The book ends with a helpful set of notes and a current bibliography.
   
   Without drama and with supported facts, this team has given us what we need to know about that problem area where people and nature are closing in on each other. It's what Virginia Tech master gardening calls the wildlands-urban interface between people and nature. That's the big concern nowadays. And it's not going to go away.

4 comments about Adapter Kit: Mexico: A Traveler's Tools for Living Like a Local.

1. I liked the author's honest assessment of living in Mexico. It helped me to understand that relocating would be different than my frequent (and great) Mexico vacations. I especially appreciated the descriptions of individual regions and cities that the author believes offer the best lifestyle options for a new resident. This was a very thoughtful book and I know I'll make a better informed decision about moving because of the information provided.



2. Can Mr. Luboff, Avalon Travel books, or Amazon spell E-T-H-I-C-S ?
   My wife and I are determined to move to Mexico. We have been reading several books about the process of making this transition and eagerly awaited Mr. Luboff's book. Having purchased (and enjoyed) his 1999 book, Live Well in Mexico, we figured, the 2002 Adapter Kit, would have more detail, and provide further assistance in our move. THE TWO BOOKS ARE ONE AND THE SAME!! Chapters were simply moved around, and 2 renamed.I don't have a problem with Mr. Luboff reworking his earlier book, but wouldn't it be ethical to state somewhere (on the cover, in the intro, OR in Amazon's write-up)that fact? I am disappointed. I have to assume Mr. Luboff has nothing further to say and forgot he had already published one book on the subject.



3. I also purchased Live Mexico and and Adapter Kit Mexico which I found to be an updated version of Live Well. More importantly, I used Adapter Kit Mexico as a resource for a potential purchase of a second home in Mexico. Life in Mexico is fluid not static and what I appreciated about this book is that it pointed me in the right direction and gave me a strategy for where to live and buy property.



4. This book (first published by Muir in 1999 as Living Well in Mexico) was merely OK the first time around, but this version is literally the very same thing, just three years older (it is true that several miniscule changes have been made, for example using "50" instead of "fifty"). Although I read another review saying this was the same book, I must admit I assumed it couldn't be true and ordered it anyway--a mistake! I'm sending it back even though it pains me to pay the postage.

2 comments about Cities of Gold: A Journey Across the American Southwest in Pursuit of Coronado.

1. Douglas Preston wrote an engagingly funny but also historical account of his adventures and misadventures following Coronado's trail by horseback from the Mexican border in SE Arizona northeast to Pecos, NM. His anecdotes are entertaining and his historical accounts describe the region and peoples past and present accurately.It's a must read for people interested in southwestern history.



2. A thoroughly engrossing book summarizing Preston's journey following Coronado's route to the New World. I couldn't put it down! I fell in love with the people he met and the places he went. I had my map out beside me as I read the book. The history, geography,and geology were incredible. The accounts from Coronado and others of his time were engrossing. The fate of the Indians they encountered was troubling. Does it not foreshadow our own fate?

No comments about Continental Divide GPS Companion : Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico.

3 comments about Hidden Cancun & the Yucatan: Including Cozumel, Tulum, Chichen Itza, Uxmal, and Merida (Hidden Cancun and the Yucatan).

1. The author has some good advice, lots of knowledge, his standards of cleanliness and quality are to be trusted, and seems to really like Mexico in general.
   
   But listen,if you're going to Cancun to drink, lie in the sun, and never leave the grounds of your resort, then you don't need a guidebook, period. Cancun is like Orlando, FL. There is an Outback Steakhouse and a Burger King, for god's sake. The price you pay for this little slice of America is that once you're already in Cancun, it's an ordeal to get away from it. Just checking into a hotel seems like you've signed a contract in blood.
   Which is why the author advocates AVOIDING Cancun, renting a car, and checking out the area AROUND Cancun. For this purpose, the book is excellent. Also, it's the kind of book you should read cover to cover before you ever buy a plane ticket or plan your trip. Like i mentioned above, trying to escape Cancun once you've figured out that it sucks is really difficult.



2. This book and "A Tourist in the Yucatan" (cool thriller set in the Yucatan) really made my recent Holiday in Mexico a complete success! I agree with the last reviewer, you don't need this guide book or any other if you don't plan on leaving Cancun, but if you want to see the real Yucatan this book is a great help. Good info on lodging, meals, the locals, the ruin sites. There is so much to do that you will want plane a second trip! I am going back next year!



3. The book was stamped by a local library. Condition was average. Delivery was fast.

2 comments about The Gila Wilderness: A Hiking Guide.

1. The Gila Wilderness was the first official wilderness area of the United States and at about 900 square miles is one of the largest. It's also one of the most diverse with terrain from semi-desert at 4,800 feet up to sub-alpine spruce, fir, and aspen forest at a top of 10,892 feet. The Gila River is floatable during the spring melt and old Indian cliff dwellings are found in the canyons. Trout fishing in the Gila and its tributaries is pretty good, and wildlife is abundant. Hiking and solitude are the major attractions. You can walk for a week or more and never cross your path twice. The scenery may not be quite as rugged and spectacular as the Rockies or the canyonlands to the north, but there's plenty of beauty to be enjoyed.
   
   This is an excellent guide to hiking in the Gila Wilderness Area. The author describes 25 hiking trails and routes, some of them more than 30 miles long. Each of the trails has a topo map that goes along with it plus a description. A lengthy introduction acquaints you with the history and natural history of the Gila, including the Apaches and other Indians who lived here. Appendices provide lists of birds, plants, mammals, and reptiles found in the Gila. An interesting study concerning the reintroduction of the Grizzly Bear to the Gila is reprinted in the appendices.
   
   Possibly the most spectacular of the trails in the Gila is the Whitewater Trail which follows a narrow "catwalk" through a steep sided canyon. The catwalk was built more than a century ago to facilitate mining operations -- now long abandoned. The Three Forks area (Wilderness Ranger District) offers hot springs, cliff dwellings, and long, easy trails that lead into the heart of the wilderness. At lower elevations, the Gila can be visited and hiked year round, barring the rare snowstorm.
   
   Smallchief



2. I was disappointed with this guide book. The book was published in 1988, which means there is nothing about GPS in the book. I found the organization of the book to be confusing. The guide has maps of some of the trails, but they are hard to read and there is no map that provides a big picture view of the trails. Information about many trails in the Gila Wilderness is available, but would be more useful with an easy to find section providing information about each trail such as length, elevation changes, connecting trails, water availablity, etc. Several trails are cited as connecting to included trails, but no other information is provided.

5 comments about Moon Handbooks Pacific Mexico: Including Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta, Guadalajara, Acapulco, and Oaxaca (Moon Handbooks).

1. We've been going to PV and points south for years. I've been amused looking in Mexico tourist guides for their laughable coverage (if there is any) of Playa Careyes, Tomatlan, El Tuito. Usually, there's nothing. This book covers it all! Granted, there are many restaurants and shops in PV that aren't included, but PV is easy to figure out. It's once you get on the highway that you need the book.

   Enjoy.




2. My friend and I used this book, and a wrinkled photocopy of a map, as our only guides on a bicycle trip from Mazatlan to Salina Cruz, Oaxaca. This is the rare travel book with an authorial voice that enhances the information rather than distracts. Mr. Whipperman obviously has a deep love of the region (especially Oaxaca and Indigenous regions of Guerrero)and a love for the kind of travelling that makes travel worthwhile. Laudable detail on the places you end up, rather than seek out, and the tasty bits of history he includes make you glad you did.



3. Want my book? It is useless. This book is full of information, none of it practical. You can't find ANYTHING you are looking for in it. NO hostels are listed. They don't even highlight any of the amazing festivals that are held here in Mexico. Believe me, I am living here in Mexcio, and I am going to go buy the Lonely Planet. I wanted something more specific to my region, but this is NOT it. This book is written like the author took one pathway through the region, and wrote along the way. So unless you are following the exact same route, the information is SO useless.



4. I used this book extensively this past summer for an epic driving trip into Mexico that took me almost to Manzanillo. I found the book extremely useful for discovering those off the beaten path sidetrips. I also used Fodor's but found this book a notch above in terms of helpful recomendations.Since the bulk of the 3+ weeks was spent in Puerto Vallarta(actually Mismaloya) the book proved to be a good guide for excursions into the surrounding states of Nayarit and Colima. For the most part the details given were accurate but with any travel book there are problems with current information as things are usually in flux in the tourist trade. I suppose that is why they can come out with new editions every year. Some of the information when missing can be a letdown, for example one day we went out for an adventure in the hopes of seeing the turtle rescue attempts in a not so nearby bay only to find out it was not exactly natures right time. There were other let downs such as the time we wet out to Mexicalitlan ," House of the Mexicans", where the ancient Aztecs/Mexica supposedly set out from Aztlan to establish Tenochitlan where the eagle would be found on top of a nopal devouring a snake. The description calls it a "scenic little island town." If you consider peering into the open doors of the living rooms of the locals I guess it was scenic! For my part I found it to be a waste of a drive. The museum was closed also which brings to a point one should consider whenever driving to a destination in Mexico. Do not arrive during the tradional siesta time or one will have to wait until 4 or 5 in the afternoon to enjoy the local musem etc! By contrast unexpected pleasant surprises can result by the books ommision of information as in the opportunity to see the hatching of baby crocodiles at the end of the jungle cruise on La Tovara near San Blas. All in all the guide is very, very useful to plan out a trip and see things and experience different parts of Mexican culture. The short histories, hotel recomendations, restaurant guides etc are pretty accurate and invaluable in planning a trip within a trip. There is diversity in recomendations for the earthy camper or the posh five star luxury hotel traveler. I would recommend this book for any traveler along the lovely Pacific Mexican trail.



5. I just returned (Dec 2002) from a trip to Mexico using this publication. This was my third trip with a Moon Handbook. I was not to happy with the one to Baja, I found the one for Costa Rica filled with inaccurate information but this one was the worst.

   I found the maps to be mostly useless, directions to places not very helpful, several recommendations absolutely pointless. Even though this book was published OCT 2001, MANY times I was left with the impression that the author NEVER was on-site or has not revisited since the first edition. This guidebook seemed unfocused, information arranged not practical, and descriptions are exaggerated and/or misleading. Case in point - the town of Playa Azul. The town is given almost 4 pages and a rather poetic description is used to make it sound like a pretty cool place. As it turns out the town itself is very run down, many houses are bad repair, most hotels are dirty hole-in-the-walls and the seafood palapa restaurants are in a shape that most travelers that are just a little worried about cleanliness s/would not eat there. Playa Azul is for Mexican budget travelers and offers nothing that could not be had any other place around there.
   Barra Vieja would be another example of where the book is off the mark. After reading Mr. Whipperman's description, I was not prepared to drive along a 4 line highway most of the way, past a very nice golf facility and all the construction that was going on there.
   .... and this are just two of my grippes about this book.

   Despite the book, I had a great time. I saw a very beautiful side of Mexico. I would recommend a trip to Pacific Mexico to anyone. I am going back there in March. I will look for a travel guide I feel more aligned with and whose recommendation I can trust.