No comments about Karen Brown's Mexico: Charming Inns and Itineraries 2005 (Karen Brown Guides/Distro Line).

2 comments about Sonora: An Intimate Geography (University of Arizona Southwest Centre).

1. I read this book that I borrowed from a friend 3 years ago. I am a Sonoran native, and I found most of the author's comments accurate. Although I found it a bit pessimistic and cynical at times, I really enjoyed his observations on the present conditions in the state, since most of them are true.

   Arturo Wagner Navojoa, Sonora




2. This is a delightful read, a vivid description of the land, the people, and the culture of Sonora, written by a person who loves it.

   A research scientist at the University of Arizona, David Yetman creates a nice balance among history/geography; the human stories of people he meets; and his personal relationship to the land and indigenous people .

   The esteem in which Yetman is held, both by Sonoran natives and gringo colleagues, is awesome. He moves easily from intimate conversations with native families willing to share their last tortilla, to sophisticated discussions of politics, agriculture, and drugs with officials in the highest of places. While acknowledging the challenges facing Sonora in light of ecological and social changes, he goes easy when questioning reluctant locals about the drug culture, presumably to avoid putting them, and himself, in harm's way.

   Yetman's academic credentials are revealed in the wealth of information about the varied landscapes within Sonora. That he truly enjoys and respects the people he has encountered over thirty years and hundreds of visits shines through and gives the book its personality.

No comments about Mexico: Some Travels and Some Travelers There (Destinations).

4 comments about Rand Mcnally 2008 Road Atlas and Travel Guide: United States/Canada/mexico (Rand Mcnally Road Atlas and Travel Guide: United States, Canada, Mexico).

1. This Atlas is a great resource tool when planning long distance or short distance travel. Plus, it's great fun to just open up at random and follow the highway. Armchair traveling? You bet -- don't knock it till you try it!!



2. This atlas is very large and spiral bound for easy flip-through. I especially love the travel highlights by state at the back. I agree with the other reviewer that it is an ideal travel guide for the arm-chair traveler.



3. Typically clear and easy to read maps you'd expect from Rand McNally. I like the spiral format as it saves wear and tear on the binding. This edition contains additional pages that spotlight each of the 50 states. Not necessary for navigational purposes, but as a home schooler I appreciated this feature.



4. Very handy on a road trip as it has both road condition and tourism phone numbers. It has a driving miles chart and also an estimated travel time map. The city maps are good and will do for most situations when passing through and making a brief stop. If you are going to be in a city for a long time and taking in all the sites then you will probably want to purchase a city map.
   
   Spiral binding is great and we keep it on the page of the state we are driving through.

3 comments about Moon Handbooks Guadalajara (Moon Handbooks).

1. There are two tricks to enjoying an extended stay in Guadalajara: learning how to get around, and knowing what lies beyond the Centro Historico. This book gives you a good introduction to both. Almost all of the maps and descriptions include instructions about the buses you can take to get about. The buses are very efficient and easy to use, and it's a shame that more tourists don't take advantage of that. The book includes city sights outside of the downtown core worth seeing: the plazuela de nueve esquinas with it's famous birririas, the parque de agua azul, the casa y museo Orzco, the barranca vista park north of town, and of course Zappopan's old centro and Tonalá and Tlaquepaque. The book also provides decent descriptions of a few outlying neighborhoods worth lingering in if one has the time.
   Restaurant and hotel descriptions are selective. You won't miss any must-do restaurants using this guide, but you won't be able to look up every restaurant you come accross. If you want comprehensive listings you should also pick up simple restaurant/hotel centered guidebook to supplement this one.
   Finally, two omissions that I'd highlight as worth visiting: the Guadalajara Zoo (mentioned only briefly in passing) - for it's collection and for it's view of the Barranca, and the area around San Jose de Atalco / Plazuela San Sebastian - which is home to some beautiful colonial mansions as well as two notable churches.



2. 5 stars because overall an excellent guide (not a bible) book.
   
   We just spent a week in Guadalajara and used this book as our main guide. It was our first trip, so we had no actual knowledge coming in.
   
   The book is very complete, so it seems to me, and very detailed in its description of the various areas of Guadalajara. In fact, sometimes its detail, such as the individual shops in Tlaquepaque, was a bit overwhelming.
   
   Nevertheless, the typical Moon headings at the beginning of what to do if you have one day, two days, a week, etc., provide orientation for the more detailed descriptions later on.
   
   The maps in the book for each area are excellent. They are detailed but with type easy to read.
   
   The book also has relatively extensive sections on history, demographics, culture, etc. It's sidebars on various sites, issues, or whatever were also extensive and informative. This is truly impressive to be found in a guide book dedicated to a single city!
   
   There are some avenues for improvement. For example, the trip time to Tapalpa, a small town, wasn't mentioned. For some reason, I thought it was an hour, but it turned out to be three. Had we known this we would have considered other destinations that were perhaps only an hour or two more. Even though our two night stay in Tapalpa was a highlight of our trip.
   
   Occasionally there's an assumption that you can speak Spanish. For example, that you might make a friend through good natured bargaining. Or, that you should bargain hard with the car rental agencies. But, how can you bargain hard when they don't speak any English, as the first three I called up didn't.
   
   To his rap that 'la tourista' is really nothing more than what one could get when vacationing in San Francisco from New York, I say: "get real."
   
   Lastly, the writing lacks a certain pizzaz. I don't believe this is due to the author, as I've found exactly the same style in the other Moon Handbooks that I've read or looked at. Reading between the lines, I think Mr. Whipperman is an interesting writer. So, Moon Handbooks, please give your better writers some more rope.
   
   Overall we found this an excellent guide. It's hard to see how it could have been much better.



3. I go to Guadalajara for six weeks in the summer for the Guadalajara summer program of the University of San Diego (see albums at http://math-cs.sandiego.edu/albums/g2006/g2008). Thanks to this book, I quickly learned to ride public buses (for 5 pesos or 50 cents) and subway (same price). This is important for me because I speak no Spanish, and this fact seems to bring out the worst in taxi drivers who often charge me much more. I suggest that you make copies of the downtown map on pp 24-25 , map of the Minerva-Chapultepec area on pp 64-65, and other fine maps if you do not carry the whole book when you go out. These maps includes useful bus routes and save me when I get lost in the maze like streets.
   
   A weakness of the book is its restaurant coverage. There are many fine restaurants in Guadalajara and the turnover rate is high. For example, Formosa Gardens (p79) disappeared years ago, in its place now is a cooking school. Villa Chianti (p77) is now "La O". I agree with the author about the beauty of Santo Coyote (p 76), but not with his assessment of the dishes. I can very easily recommend many more restaurants. For example, La Matera (Argentinian), Suehiro (Japanese), Recco (Italian), Anita Li (Mexican/Thai/Japanese Fusion), Le Tequila ...
   
   Finally, I recommend "7 things to do in Guadalajara" at http://www.agaveweb.com/blog/2007/07/18/top-7-things-to-do-in-guadalajara-mexico for all Guadalajara visitors.

1 comments about From Santa Fe to O'Keeffe Country: A One Day Journey to the Soul of New Mexico (Adventure Roads Travel).

1. RE: From Santa Fe to O'Keeffe Country: A One Day Journey... the seven-hour 162-mile New Mexico sightseeing trip. I expect this book has some useful information, and as a disclaimer, I have not read it yet. That said, I cannot imagine how one can "do" this itinerary in 7 hours. On my last trip to the area I drove from Santa Fe to Abiquiu and toured O'Keeffe's home, and then drove on to Ghost Ranch where I shot some photos and took in that astounding landscape, and then a short stop in the gift shop. From there I drove back to my casita in Santa Fe. It was an all-day trip, with a leisurely lunch in the middle in Abiquiu. So how can one possibly do as the authors suggest and see the opera, Native American pueblos, Anasazi ruins, village towns, and the homes and studios of GOK in seven hours? I visited the Anasazi ruins many years earlier, climbing the rocks and seeing inside the caves. That too was an all-day trip from Santa Fe. I think Georgia would laugh. Sign me, Mystified.

1 comments about Santa Fe, New Mexico / Santa Fe County Street Map.

1. This is a great map of Santa Fe. I haven't seen anything like it until I found this map and will help me on my next trip there. Recommend it for anyone who wants to explore Santa Fe and not miss a thing.

No comments about 2008 Mexico City Atlas by Guia Roji.

1 comments about Mexico Travel Map (Globetrotter Travel Map).

1. This map lacks details and minor roads. For travelers exploring the back roads of Mexico, it's virtually useless. Also lacks city maps for some of the major cities. Not worth buying.

No comments about Frommer's Santa Fe, Taos & Albuquerque (Frommer's Complete).