No comments about Artwise Manhattan Museum Map - Laminated Museum Map of Manhattan, NY - Streetwise Maps (Artwise).

5 comments about Frommer's Puerto Rico (Frommer's Complete).

1. My husband and I purchased this book to go on our honeymoon and were sorely disappointed. The descriptions were vague and often downright incorrect. Luquillo beach, which the authors described as one of the best beaches in the Carribean, had dingy grey water and was filled with garbage. This is only one example of many many misrepresentations. The guide leaned almost exclusively to very expensive restaurants, and even these were nothing to write home about. We had more luck after we ditched the guide and started exploring on our own. Its one good point was some interesting background on the history of Puerto Rico. However, this was not enough to make me buy another Frommer's guide.



2. I've used this guide for three PR vacations, and each time I want to throw it across the hotel room. But I can't because the other guides are even worse or even less comprehensive. What's the problem with this one? The lack of description: it gives you no feel as to what makes each beach/hotel unique. Invariably every second beach is summed up vaguely as 'one of the best beaches on the island,' even if one has brownish sand and no snorkling while another "best" beach is pristine white, loaded with fish, and secluded. It's the same with hotels, too, except there's no explanation of what the mood is like there, what kind of people stay there, what the view is like, what the rooms are like, if there's a bar to hang out in after dinner, how close the beach is.... It's almost comic, except when you're trying to figure out where to spend your precious time and money.

   Another frustrating problem is that no one took the time to edit this guide. One beach or hotel will be mentioned in two (or three) places in entirely different tones, so it's hard to guess whether a place is just wacky or dirty (or, in the instance of La Parguera, too polluted to swim in one mention; just fine in another). Also, uninspired writing means a breathtaking mountain retreat like the Casa Grande Hotel in Utuado comes across as completely unremarkable and possibly worth skipping. Can't the writers come out and say "This place is great" or, if necessary, "This place is a dump?" A reader might wonder if these guys visited anything but bloated resorts at all. PR deserves better and I certainly expected better from Frommer's.




3. This is a good guide for seeing the cultural sights of Puerto Rico, especially in San Juan. The book is geared towards travellers only moderately concerned with budget. A few pieces of information are outdated, such as bus numbers and changes in price, but the numbering system (up to three stars) is useful for the first-time traveller with little knowledge of the country. Detailed descriptions of the sights in San Juan help visitors get a sense of the city's history while the walking tour takes them around to key spots. There is a comparable walking tour of Ponce, along with a description of the Museo de Arte de Ponce which prevented me from missing out on this fine museum. Ponce is the only place where we tried one of the listed hotels. Although the book described Hotel Belgica as "roughing it," we thought the accommodations were fine and enjoyed the unusual atmosphere of an old-style hotel. The book is full of useful tidbits. For example, en route to Parguera (which should get two stars, not one), the name of the road changes several times along the way (101, 116, 315, 305, 304). No wonder people get confused. Additional information: The book should include a warning that the $5 boat trip to the Phosphorescent Bay near Parguera doesn't let you see much, so it's best to go with the friendly folks at Paradise Scuba Center (the address is listed). Additionally, the Rio Camuy Cave Park sometimes sells out of tickets by 9am (especially on weekends), so it's best to get there early. Finally, good snorkeling is available in San Juan on the west side of the Wyndham Hotel (Condado).



4. Some maps in the guide don't reflect current reality eg the pull out map shows a major highway on the SE coast. However construction projects for many sections of that highway (Rt 53) have not yet commenced.
   
   In general we had problems navigating because every map we picked up from guidebooks and tourist brochures was wrong, each in its own special way! If driving, do yourself a favor and buy a very detailed and up-to-date map before you head out.



5. I keep forgetting how much I don't care for Frommer's guides and wind up buying another one.
   
   1. Frommer's has next to no pictures.
   2. I think somebody went to a couple of random restaurants and beaches and decided to call them the "Best of".
   
   For example, Frommer's says there is snorkeling at Luqillo beach, but there is none (unless all you want to see is sand). Luquillo is a great beach for swimming, but the snorkeling sucks.
   
   Another example is the restaurant in the southeast part of the island called Tulio's. While it is a nice restaurant and our food was good, it is not cheap. At least I don't consider $20 a plate cheap.

No comments about Fifth Avenue: The Best Address.

3 comments about Hudson Valley Harvest: A Food Lover's Guide to Farms, Restaurants, and Open-Air Markets.

1. We bought this book before a weekend trip to the Hudson Valley and can't imagine traveling to the area without it. It has everything you would want to know about the farmers and what they are growing and producing. It tells you where and what to eat and how to use what you buy at a farmstand or local farmers market. It also made us really think about the people who grow the food. Their stories are uniformly interesting, even moving. The author has a pleasingly gentle touch when she writes about issues so much in the news today like organics, the humane treatment of animals and keeping small farms viable. Even if you aren't visiting the Hudson Valley, this is definitely a worthwhile book to have and read.



2. This is THE book for anyone who lives, works, visits or is even thinking of a trip to the Hudson Valley, this bucolic but agriculturally threatened area, just an hour north of New York City. Jan Greenberg not only tells where to buy and eat these outstanding (and tasty) products but in a non-preachy way makes the reader understand why it is important to support these local farmers and producers. Her profiles and stories of the farmers who grow the fruits and vegetables and raise the livestock are truly heartfelt and gave me, and will do the same I think for anyone else who reads them, a new understanding of what is like to be a grower where everything, from weather to the economy, is out of your control. This is the high risk profession!! It makes Wall Street look safe.

   Above all, though, this is a book about enjoying food --buying it, serving it and tasting it. As Danny Meyer, owner of New York City's Union Square Cafe and other restaurants known for their support of local farms, writes - "This book deserves a place on the bookshelf (or in the glove compartment) of every itinerant aficionado of New York's bounty." He's right.




3. Jan Greenberg's guide came in handy last weekend when I took my visiting family - kids, grandparents and everything in between - on a two day trip through the Hudson Valley. This is a great area but it is hard to get off the beaten track , particularly if you want to do more than just look at historic sites and state parks. Even though it was early in the season, this book got us to some beautiful farm and country sites; the restaurant recommendations were right on; and we actually learned a lot as well. Don't visit the Hudson Valley without this book.

No comments about Rand McNally Manhattan, New York: City Map.

1 comments about High Peaks of the Northeast: A Peakbagger's Directory and Resource Guide to the Highest Summits in the Northeastern United States.

1. Must have for all of you "Peakbaggers". Every single 4000 footer or higher in NY and New England is described inside this incredible book. My only suggestion would be an update that includes all of the Catskill's 3,500' peaks.

3 comments about Frommer's Irreverent Guide to Manhattan (Irreverent Guides).

1. Head and shoulders above your average guide book. I used it in my last visit to nyc and found it to have a lot of information that no other guidebooks have. It was hip, up-to-date and easy to read. It's also really funny.



2. I thought this would be an insiders guide;things not covered by usual guide books,undiscovered gems,restaurants etc.It wasn't.This is just a poorly laid out, same old same old, guide book,don't waste your money.



3. Listed amongst hotels to stay at Four Seasons or Waldorf Astoria. Then of course, there is the NY YMCA - hardly irreverent. Well they do list the Chelsea Hotel - but how 60s is that! Restaurants, well there's Nobu and Next Door Nobu, The Pink Teacup, a group of Italian Restaurants all owned by Mario Batali - Po, Babbo and Lupa and I quote from the book "the only thing more remarkable than the cuisine and impeccable service is how hard it is to get a reservation"!
   
   I then wanted to take a trip around Harlem. If you research on the internet there are a couple of very cool and different tours, but in this book - Harlem Spirituals or Harlem Your Way...are the suggestions - what could be more reverent!
   
   Take shopping.... well Macy,s, Tiffany's, H and M, Bloomingdales and Saks get good reviews and of course there is the 'Low Down for Style wise guys' - sheesh! and for kids (To Buy your Kids Love...)FAO schwarz, Toys R Us, the Disney Store and the Scholastic Store are the only ones mentioned. I know a store were you can buid a doll from scratch, or a bear, and take your home made baby home for a few dollars!
   
   Now, I can tell you some great hotels to stay in in town at a reasonable price and just brimming with help and comfort. I can suggest some great clubs for nightlife, fabulous restaurants at out of city prices and tours to blow your mind and I found them all on the internet. This book is a complete and utter waste of money, not to mention a great big phoney!

1 comments about South Street.

1. Profusely illustrated with illustrative photos, "South Street" by Barbara G. Mensch is a history of New York City's famous Fullerton Fish Market. Barbara's photography combines nicely with her lively and informative stories of a colorful community of fishmongers who worked together, resisted outside influences of government and corporations, and basically policed themselves. "South Street" concludes with the closure of the docks and the opening of the Seaport mall which was viewed at the time as the result of the expulsion of control by organized crime and the emergence of domination by corporations. A work of impressive scholarship combined with talented narration, "South Street" is enthusiastically recommended for academic and community library American History reference collections and supplemental reading lists.

No comments about Not For Tourists Guide 2009 to Brooklyn (Not for Tourists Guidebook).

No comments about The New York Subway Finder.