5 comments about 2007 Trailer Life RV Parks, Campgrounds and Services Directory (Trailer Life Directory : Campgrounds, Rv Parks & Services).

1. It's true this telephone-book sized guide has many listings. However, it has nearly as many ads for it's apparent sponsor, the Good Sam Club. We found it extremely annoying to plow through pages of ads looking for the actual campground listings. We also had to tear out a bunch of ad inserts that if left in, made the book fall open to where they were inserted. Finally, none of the campgrounds we've used and enjoyed in Northern and Central California were listed in the book. Could it be because they're not part of the Good Sam network? All in all, barely 3 stars for us. We take Tom Stienstra's book over this one any time.



2. I think this is a great book containing a lot of good info. Though it doesn't contain all. But it's a good starting anchor point for beginners' RV trips.



3. We recently went on a vacation that we planned to be non-structured. We did not make reservations anywhere. Just drove until we felt the need to stop. This directory made our trip and finding a campground a memorable experience. We relaxed and had such a wonderful time!! We didn't want to come home!



4. Actually, I don't own the 2007 Trailer Life directory. I own the 2006 and 2008 editions (the latter has been out about two months). For 2007, I purchased Woodall's Directory instead. My wife and I spend a few months camping each year--often without prior reservations. We are primarily tourers rather than destination campers, covering a large section of the US or Canada each year and not staying in one place more than a few days at a time. Thus, some of the campground amenities like recreation programs are unimportant to us. We do care about issues like price and cleanliness, and both publications do on-site ratings of many of the listed campgrounds each year. We both preferred Trailer Life over Woodall's because it gives more information we do want to know, like if a facility has showers. Neither Trailer Life nor Woodall's lists anywhere near all the campgrounds, but both are comprehensive enough to be useful. However, the information becomes dated pretty quickly, and the most current edition is always a year behind in terms of ratings and prices (e.g. the 2007 edition would show 2006 ratings and prices). Although I'm sure the 2007 edition is as good as the 2006 & 2008 editions, I wouldn't recommend it now because its information is now essentially two years old. I would instead purchase the 2008 edition from the publisher or from Amazon.com when they have it available. If I was rating the most current edition I would give it 4 stars.



5. I have used Trailer Life Directories before but this one is even better.
   I really appreciate the charts that show trailering laws and etc. for each state. The campground descriptions are very complete and accurate. It is worth the money.

3 comments about Wild America: The Record of a 30,000 Mile Journey Around the Continent by a Distinguished Naturalist and His British Colleague.

1. Let me just quote my favorite line from the book. It is when James Fisher, an Englishman, first sees the Grand Canyon:

   "I went down there a few yards. The world ended; began again eight miles away. Between the ends of the world was a chasm."

   Now I have never seen the Grand Canyon, but reading about it with such wonder through Mr. Fisher's eyes was extraordinary. It brought tears to my eyes. It goes to show how truly amazing and beautiful America is. I highly recommend this book, not just for the birds these two men see, but also for all the wonderful sights they come encounter. It made me want to retrace their route.




2. The world of e-reviewing is a tolerant world, and exaggerations have an easy home there. But measured by the role it has played in people's lives, there is little hyperbole in identifying Peterson and Fisher's "Wild America," precisely fifty years old this year, as among the most important books produced in the twentieth century. In the 1950s and 1960s, the book found its way into school libraries all over America, where it has been read with awe and envy by the last three generations of would-be naturalists--read so intensively that many of us, decades later, can quote great passages by heart.
   The book is a collaborative account of the biggest 'big year' up to that point ever undertaken in North America; the trip was planned by none other than Roger Tory Peterson, then (and still today, perhaps) the continent's best-known birder, and was intended as an introduction to America's natural history for James Fisher, an equally prominent British naturalist who had never visited this side of the Atlantic. "Wild America" was the result: a priceless document of the continent's natural riches seen through the eyes, the words and the illustrations of two gifted and interesting observers.
   This year marks the 50th anniversary of Peterson and Fisher's trip, and the book is certain to be celebrated over and over in the press. Those who have not read it should by all means visit their library to borrow a well-worn copy; and those who have should take it in hand again, and be reminded of how important this text was in the birth of North America's birding culture as we know it today.



3. When I found this book at Third Place Books in Seattle in the summer of 2002, I had never heard of it, but, from the authors' reputation as naturalists and ornithologists, it looked like a good read. I discovered the book at the end of my camping journey to three national parks in Washington state and a one-week cruise to Alaska's Glacier Bay National Park and the main points of interest in beautiful southeastern Alaska. My jaunt to the natural areas of the Pacific Northwest and the Alexander Archipelago would be lame compared to the 20,000+ miles that Roger Peterson and James Fisher logged in on their comprehensive foray to "Wild America".
   
   The authors embarked on their journey following the coast of the US with intermittent forays to the interior and a brief excursion to Mexico a year before the publication of the molecular structure of DNA as double helix. Rapid developments in our understanding of the molecular basis of life ushered in the molecular era of biology, which has ultimately led to the restructuring and overhauling of the way we teach biology and the way we explain, understand, and appreciate the complexities of life. Just when most students in biology these days are honed to the molecular and cellular basis of life--a reductionist view, so to speak--and less to the holistic and more traditional view of biology, what a refreshing change to learn from and be engrossed by the keen observations of two naturalists on the road and be taken back to an era when biology as natural history was respected as an academic field and an engaging pastime as well!
   
   There are tons of information on birds in this book, but the authors also pay attention to mammals and other fauna, and then there is the flora (peculiar landmark plant species of the West stand out, like the agave, saguaro, ocotillo, Joshua Tree, Monterey cypress, coastal redwood, sequoia, sugar pine, lodgepole pine, and Douglas fir). There are also accounts of long-term inhabitants and indigenous peoples, and their culture and history. The illustrations are superb. The most remarkable part of the book, however, are the wholehearted commentaries on the purpose and values of our national parks and monuments. Since 1953, many of the national monuments they visited are now national parks. Roads have been paved, widened, and increased, and so have concessions and amenities, converting park villages into virtual towns and confronting many visitors with the same urban and suburban evils (traffic, congestion, to name a few) from which they try to escape by visiting national park areas. You can try hard to hope that James Fisher criticizes the way national parks are run, but you don't find that in the book. Notwithstanding this, it is amusing that many facts about the national monuments and parks still apply today and that these places can make the same impressions today, mainly because we try hard to keep these natural treasures intact for future generations. The British naturalist's gratitude to Americans for the designation and preservation of national parks and optimism for their stewardship is a sharp contrast to Edward Abbey's cynical attitude towards the National Park Service and disdain for tourists.
   
   The book concludes with a powerful statement that speaks of Fisher's gratitude to Americans and optimism for "Wild America": "And this is what I have tried to do--to tell of Wild America, and say that never have I seen such wonders or met landlords so worthy of their land. They have had, and still have, the power to ravage it; and instead have made it a garden". Certainly the power of his statement would not have been lost on people who deeply appreciate natural America and care to preserve our astounding natural heritage.

2 comments about Homegrown/Handmade: Art Roads and Farm Trails.

1. I'm a group tour director in eastern North Carolina, so I was excited when I learned of this book. What a let-down! There's absolutely nothing new here. The title seems to promise something unique, something "Homegrown [and/or] Handmade." While perhaps 10% of the places listed here actually do sell homegrown or handmade items, the rest are the common, everybody-stops-here, places included in every guide to this region. Paid for with tobacco settlement money, this purports to be an effort to inject something new into the economy of the former tobacco lands. (This means that western North Carolina isn't even mentioned!) If there are five tobacco-farming families represented here, I'd be surprised. This book seems like it is either paid advertising for a mixed bag of local establishments or was put together by people who never left their laptops. Tax payer's money has already been wasted on this -- don't waste yours!



2. The Eastern and Piedmont regions of North Carolina have much to offer travelers. "Homegrown Handmade: Art Roads and Farm Trails" is a travel guide focusing on these areas of North Carolina, listing countless art galleries, performances, agricultural fairs, festivals, and other attractions which will bring visitors much entertainment and interest. A must for anyone planning on visiting North Carolina, "Homegrown Handmade" is highly recommended for community library travel collections.

1 comments about Everything Family Guide to New England: Where to eat, play, and stay in America's scenic and historic Northeast (Everything Series).

1. I'm planning a 2008 trip to New England for my family which includes my wife, and my 9-, 13-, and 17-year-old children. The book is written as a state-by-state guide showcasing must-see activities for each state, then laying out recommended attractions, places to eat and stay, and other miscellaneous items by region within the state. I would guess over 95% of the items in the book include web addresses where one can do more research. This book was my primary tool for creating our itinerary while Frommer's encyclopedia-like approach and Insight Guides' many pictures provided additional reference information. The only slight knock I have is that not all items found in the book are listed in the index, so sometimes you have to recall where it's at and hunt it down via page-flipping. However, the book isn't overly large and the type is easy to read, so this isn't difficult. If you're planning a trip for your family, I can't recommend it enough. It was just updated for 2008.

5 comments about A Field Guide to Rock Art Symbols of the Greater Southwest.

1. I needed an excellent source book for primitive petroglyphs for some art work. This book proved to be an excellent resource



2. Patterson's created one of the best resources available on ancient rock art. As a means of understanding ancient rock art in North America the book probably occupies an unchallenged place on the bookshelf of anyone interested in these 'artifacts'. Unfortunately, as a field guide the book has some serious organizational snags. The specific types of subject matter are arranged in ways to cause a person in a field setting to create some rock-art of his own with his fingernails. Even though my copy of this book is tattered through long use I continue to have difficulties relocating what I'm searching for in the text. I usually carry a simpler and better organized field guide for quick and dirty work and leave the Patterson book for a time when I'm sitting on a rock somewhere catching my breath after the fact.

   All this said, I believe this book is a great one and I'd recommend it for home study. There's not a better one available.




3. This field guide is a must for Rock Art enthusiasts! You can take this book with you on your hunts or simply photograph your rock art and then take home to research the meanings in this book. It doesn't matter where you are in the Southwest, this book will explain any pictographs or petroglyphs you find. It is filled with photos, drawings and explanations which are simple and precise to decipher.
   Whether you are a beginner or a true artifact hunter, this book is for you!



4. My instinct was to refer to this as a dictionary of rock art symbols, but that's not quite right--The book isn't quite that precise. The book lists a number of categories of rock art symbols, with postage-stamp sized illustrations, and brief passages, mostly cited from other authors, explaining what that author thought might be the importance or meaning of that symbol. There is a very brief list (perhaps three pages) of the most important rock art sites, with EXTREMELY cryptic directions ("Exit at I-40, ask for directions at park visitor center", for example). As a result, this book will help you before a visit by preparing you for what sort of things you might see and what they meant, and it will help you afterwards, in figuring out what you saw, but it won't help you plan the visit or be a guide during the visit.
   
   Worthwhile if you really want to try to understand what you are seeing at these sites, but not one-book coverage of the subject--And probably more than you want to know if a single book on rock art is all you want.



5. This must-have field guide was designed to provide a key to the symbols observed on indigenous (Native American) rock art found in the Southwest United States. The book brings together 600 commentaries on the different symbols, and includes a valuable pictorial key, organized by tentative meaning or description. 500 illustrations. The geographical range of the book encompasses Northern Mexico, Utah, California and Colorado.

5 comments about The Nine Nations of North America.

1. Garreau unpacks the journalists' quick-and-dirty definition of America's regions in The Nine Nations of North America, and the undoubted aging of some of his details are noted. However, the journalist's characterization of these regions underlying Garreau's definitions and explications is empirically based, and those foundational ideas seem to become more accurate, in the main, than not. I would like to see a new edition updating the book.



2. So frequently we hear pundits and others refer to "red states" and "blue states." Garreau's _9 Nations of North America_ pre-supposes this by almost 25 years, and with a greater degree of finesse than such blanket simplifications as "red" or "blue."
   
   Certainly many parts of the book are quaint - I particularly enjoyed his emphasis on Seattle's aviation industry and the emerging Silicon Valley of California. Yet the larger issue he points out: that North America is culturall divided primarily by economics, but also by social outlook and culture, remains relevant and hauntingly accurate.
   
   Taken with a grain of salt to make allowances for the time that has passed since its publication (I, too, would welcome a revised edition), it is a fascinating read on America and largly remains relevant, particularly in the age of NAFTA and CAFTA.



3. I purchased this in a book kiosk at the Seattle airport en route to Miami. As I was in Seattle, I started with the section that dealt with the Pacific Northwest and, damn, I suddenly realized why I'd reacted to it as I did. A stop in Kansas City, in the bread basket, proved the same response. Garreau has an instinct for people, places and things and must have had the muse sitting on his lap twisting his tie as he wrote this. His divisions of North America, from Venezuela North to Alaska, are absolutely accurate and, not infrequently, absolutely hysterical. He clearly loves this wacky part of the world-some parts are so strange they are titled abberations-but spares it nothing. I've given over 200 copies of it to people few of whom have had less than overwhelmingly positive responses.No matter where friends live, they'll identify with their area and go on to understand the group in the next "nation". (This restructuring of North America into "Nations" is a stroke of brilliance. He had the intuition, and one suspicions, the research to get it absolutely right.) Quite simply, one of the ten most important books I've ever read.



4. Of no use. Does not stand up under time elapsed since published.



5. I thought I had reviewed this long ago, but evidently not. It is still very relevant to understanding and nurturing America today, and I would be very glad to see the publisher commission a slight update and then reprint this superb work.
   
   As America strives to migrate from a disasterous and nearly fatal two-party spoils system and an Executive that is both corrupt and delusional, those who seek to lead America into a brighter future need to understand America in a new and more nuanced way. It is not about left or right. This book has been on continuing value to me as a point of reference, and I recommend it very highly in its existing state, more so if renewed.
   
   The nine nations, each unique, are:
   
   1. The empty quarter (which global warming will open up)
   2. Quebec
   3. Ecotopia (a model for the rest of us)
   4. The breadbasket (which wastes water on excess foot and grows corn for fuel and cattle that is inedible and wastes more water)
   5. New England
   6. The Foundry (mid-Atlantic coast)
   7. Dixie
   8. MexAmerica
   9. The Islands (of the Caribbean, where Cuban sugar cane sap could power 30-35 million cars, while Cuban health care would inform our own).
   
   This book is one of my top eleven essential references for understanding America and the Americas. Here are the other ten:
   The American Mind: An Interpretation of American Thought and Character Since the 1880's
   What Kind of Nation: Thomas Jefferson, John Marshall, and the Epic Struggle to Create a United States
   The Clustering of America
   Losing America: Confronting a Reckless and Arrogant Presidency
   The Cultural Creatives: How 50 Million People Are Changing the World
   The Tao of Democracy: Using Co-Intelligence to Create a World That Works for All
   Imagine: What America Could Be in the 21st Century
   The Wealth of Networks: How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedom
   Revolutionary Wealth: How it will be created and how it will change our lives
   Collective Intelligence: Creating a Prosperous World at Peace

4 comments about Albemarle: A Story of Landscape and American Identity.

1. This is a fabulous book for anyone who lives in, has ever visited, or has ever even thought of visiting Albemarle County, V.A. The history is extremely well written, and the photographs are out-of-this-world beautiful! I highly recommend it!



2. Don't be deceived by the physical dimensions of Albemarle and beautiful photos it contains. This is more than just a coffee table book, thanks to Wingtips author Avery Chenoweth's elevating prose. The book will manage to trigger the sensory memories of anyone who has ever spent any time Charlottesville.



3. As a teenager, I spent years wandering around the Albemarle County countryside. Not literally wandering for the whole year, but a still lot of time in all seasons. More than 10 years later I've still yet to see everything, as Albemarle is rather like a small European country. Small but remarkably varied with pockets of unique 'kingdoms' hidden all around.
   
   Anyway, in all those days of wandering through fields of llamas, being chased by farmed buffalo and generally getting lost in the woods at all hours, Albemarle County never looked this good. It is remarkable how truly picturesque this place becomes through the lens and pen of the photographer and the author. Much better than the real thing.
   
   If you are interested in Albemarle, you don't need to come here and see it yourself. Stay at home and read this book instead.



4. Nothing wrong with the content of the book but for a coffee table book, this one from Amazon had several flaws. Yes the cost was less than buying at the bookstore but the bookstore copy probably wouldn't have wrinkled pages and pages still stuck together with the edges uncut. Really shoddy quality.

1 comments about Streetwise Downtown Manhattan Map - Laminated Street Map of Downtown Manhattan, NY - Folding pocket size travel map with integrated subway station locations (Streetwise).

1. If you think you'll ever find yourself in Manhattan, do us all a favor and buy this map. You don't want to look like a tourist fighting with that huge copy of the NYC subway map that they hand out for free. I'm convinced that the MTA has some sort of deal with the muggers to hand those unnecessarily large maps to mark the tourists.

   This is by far the most comprehensive Manhattan map I've seen packed into an easy-to-carry, laminated package. It has all the essentials that would be valuable to the casual visitor or the local yokel who would never admit they don't know where Essex crosses Rivington.

1 comments about Streetwise Washington DC Metro Map.

1. A great map-- small and sturdy. Ideal for carrying around in your pocket or backpack as you explore Washington, DC. It will stand up to months, if not years, of use. Especially good for walkers.
   
   Probably less good for drivers, who will find it too small to read easily while driving around and dodging other cars, tourist buses, bigwig motorcades, and distracted pedestrians.
   
   For cyclists, this is a decent, but limited, choice. It doesn't cover much of the city beyond the mall, and it does not include bike route information or bike paths, which are essential for getting around the greater DC area. For pedaling around the downtown area, however, it is great.

1 comments about William Bartram on the Southeastern Indians (Indians of the Southeast).

1. Collaboratively compiled, edited, and notated by Gregory A. Waselkov (Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Center for Archaeological Studies, University of South Alabama) and Kathryn E. Holland Brand (Associate Professor of History, Auburn University), William Bartram On The Southeastern Indians is comprised of the writings and observations first published in 1791 by William Bartram regarding flora, fauna, and the Native American Creeks, Seminoles, and Cherokee that he encountered while touring the American Southeast. This scholarly edition is enhanced for contemporary readers with illustrations, notes, a bibliography, an index, and an informative chapter devoted to the significance of William Bartram's writings in anthropological studies of 18th century southeastern Native American cultures. William Bartram On The Southeastern Indians is a core addition to personal, professional, and academic Native American Studies collections and supplemental reading lists.