5 comments about Woodall's North American Campground Directory, 2007 (Woodall's North American Campground Directory).

1. Woodall's is an excellent guide to campgrounds, and it is rather comprehensive. However, I found the print size rather small and hard for me to read. The print size is the reason for a 4 rating rather than a 5.



2. As always, Woodall's reviews are accurate and helpful. At the beginning of each state is a map showing where the different campgrounds are located. As we like to camp "on the fly" this is very helpful. We'll look up and read the descriptions in the area we want, make a phone call and we're off! We haven't been disappointed by a Woodall's review yet.



3. I was hoping this would help me find campgrounds when I was tired and in a strange city with my RV; it was NOT AT ALL USEFUL!!!! There are no free places to park; no cheap places to park; extremely poor directions to the campgrounds listed, and IT DOESN'T EVEN LIST ALL THE PAYING OPTIONS EITHER!!!! This is a lot of money and a lot of cubic inches of wasted space in my RV right now. The categories are useless and hard to navigate, the areas listed are difficult to sort out when you need it, and the whole experience was extremely frustrating.



4. A comprehensive list of many campgrounds and national parks.
   
   Gives you information about how large an RV can be, contact info, and directions (however the directions are often unclear as to where they are starting from)
   
   A useful companion on the road (when you don't have internet access)



5. I have been using Woodall's for many years. It doesn't list all the campgrounds in the US obviously, but it sure has helped me in a pinch. I always look for a campground in Woodall's because I trust their judgement. I have never been disappointed yet.

1 comments about History of the Central Brooks Range: Gaunt Beauty, Tenuous Life.

1. This book tells the human story of the Central Brooks Range in Alaska, the core of which makes up Gates of the Arctic National Park. It combines a fairly dry narrative with a remarkable number of historic photographs from various collections around the country. It includes some *historic* maps but, annoyingly, never gives us a modern map of the region at a useful scale. As a result, the geographic relations between many settlements (some of which no longer exist) remain unclear.
   
   The first chapters of book tell the story of pre-contact Alaskan natives and the European explorers who first met them. The narrative here is dry, and presented without context.
   
   Brown is clearly most interested in the material in the middle chapters, when Euro-Americans and Native Alaskans make fuller contact and begin to live and work together. Now the facts become a real narrative, and Brown begins to tell the story of Alaska in a wider context.
   
   The final chapters briefly cover the years since statehood, culminating in creation of the national park. Brown focuses on what Natives have lost from this process, which makes their participation in the process a bit mysterious. I would have liked to see more coverage of national park management and challenges (given my other interests) but this received only a couple of pages.
   
   Overall, the text of this book only gets two stars from me. In contrast, the historic photographs are first rate - - if that's what you're looking for, you'll enjoy the book. All the photos are in black and white, of course. I would have appreciated a series of color plates in the middle of the book in order to show the full beauty of the region.

No comments about San Francisco Pocket Map and Guide (Eyewitness Travel - Pocket Maps & Guides).

1 comments about Three Years Among the Indians and Mexicans (Bison Book).

1. A lively, descriptive and exciting narrative of Thomas James' adventures up the Missouri River in 1809-1810 and to Sante Fe in the years 1821-1823. His writing abilities are brilliant and the reader will find themself anxiously flipping through the pages to see what happens next. In 1809 James joined the St.Louis Missouri Fur Company and relates the experiences of his crew being mistreated by Manuel Lisa, then joining up with John Colter, along with several other personal accounts of the day to day activities and survival strategies they encountered. He was one of the first to describe and take part in the trade business from St. Louis to Sante Fe and it is absorbing to read of his confrontations with the Comanches and the Spanish during these years. This is a must read for early American West enthusiasts.The book itself may be difficult to find, but it is certainly well worth the effort.

No comments about Frommer's Comprehensive Travel Guide: Bermuda '94-'95 (Frommer's Bermuda).

No comments about Rand McNally New York City, Metro Area Counties, Long Island New York: Regional Map (Rand McNally).

3 comments about A Place for God: A Guide to Spiritual Retreats and Retreat Centers.

1. I ahve found this book to have accurate andc orrect information. SO far on the retreat centers listed all information given has been correct anda ccurate. Also even if you never go on a retreat gives you a real feel for what a retreat would be like. One can sense the "peace" from the review. Hoever after reading this you will be even more inclined to want to go on a retreat.



2. If you are looking for a directory on CHRISTIAN spiritual retreats, then this book is for you. However, for those of us looking for a spiritual, yet non-religious experience, then this guide is not helpful. I was hoping this directory would help me find spiritual retreats embracing a variety of practices. It did not. Otherwise, it is a well-organized and thorough guide within its narrow focus.



3. This book is easy to read and use. As the author of an inspirational book for mothers, NEW PSALMS FOR NEW MOMS: A KEEPSAKE JOURNAL, I encourage everyone to seek the spiritual. And this guide will be handy as you do just that. Many blessings on your journey.

1 comments about The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Volume 13: Comprehensive Index (Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition).

1. The Lewis & Clark-edition by the University of Nebraska is milestone not only for the US historiography, but also for booklovers, wether if the are Americans or not!

4 comments about Haiku Journey: Basho's the Narrow Road to the Far North and Selected Haiku.

1. This is the worst translation of Basho that I have ever seen. She makes all the haiku rhyme!!! Ugh! I suppose in Lady Bouchier's idle mind that's how poetry should appear.

   Here's a quote: "Life itself is a journey; and as for those who spend their days upon the waters in ships and those who grow old leading horses, their very home is the open road."

   Now compare that to Sam Hamill's translation: "A lifetime adrift in a boat, or in old age leading a tired horse into the years, every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home."

   This book is embarrassing. Don't buy it.




2. There are several different translations of Basho's Narrow Road extant and without doubt this is the worst generally available. Dorothy Britten's translations of both the text and verse cloy terribly, and betray her shallow understanding of the form. Her translations of some of Basho's best haiku rhyme, which should be enough to put anyone off.

   If you want to buy a translation of this wonderful work, I recommend a different Kodansha publication -- the edition featuring Masayuki Miyata's breathtaking illustrations and Donald Keene's somewhat academic but still vastly superior translations. Don't buy this one!




3. We can find Basho almost everywhere in Japan. My hometown is close to the Tokaido-highway and easy to find stone monuments with Basho's haiku inscribed in it.
   
   Dorothy Britton did fine job in the mission-impossible task of
   translating Basho haiku into palpable English. I am not well versed in poetry so I do not know how great her translation is with respect to literal viewpoint. She created the method by which peculiarly styled Japanese poem is converted into that of rhyme based western poem. Her English translation is easy to understand so it could be enjoyed by huge number of people not limited to those highly educated. As a Japanese who usually reads this essay in archaic Japanese of 17th century, her translation is instrumental in understanding what difficult Japanese words mean.
   
   As far as Haiku translation goes English language has huge disadvantages.
   1: Deletion of subject is difficult while in old Japanese it is really common.
   2: Phonetically Japanese and English is so different. For example, in Japanese, common English words such as STRIKE is
   pronounced SU-TO-RIE-KU. In Englsih one syllabled but in Japanese phonetics it requires four syllables.
   
   So as syllable based translation. Basho's haiku will be translated rather explanatory than its original Japanese form.
   
   In conclusion, I think she did a great job as a translator and her translation quite natural. No wonder Kodansha International adopted her translation for Japanese English learners.
   
   Recommended for wide range of Japanese culture appreciators.



4. Although Ms. Bitton's translations of Basho's prose are not far off from other versions of this title, many have complained of the rhyming scheme she employs when translating the haiku verses of the author's most famous work. I do agree, that these translations are somewhat jarring and just a little cumbersome (especially if one has knowledge of other translations of this haibun). But Bitton's effort was devoted to making the verses more accessible to Western readers accustomed to the perceived elegance of the rhyme in popular Western poetry. This, one may argue, is the job of a translator, and thus is not an all too terrible introduction to "The Narrow Road," especially for younger readers. However, if one truly wishes to enjoy this, one of Japan greatest literary volumes, please seek other versions as well. The difficult art of translation is in itself a fascinating study.

2 comments about A Guide to New Jersey's Revolutionary War Trail for Families and History Buffs.

1. New Jersey has been called the great "Crossroads of the American Revolution" because of its important strategic location between New York and Philadelphia, a fact well recognized by George Washington when he based his military headquarters in Morristown. This significance is superbly portrayed in DiIonno's Guide by numerous and fascinating vignettes detailing the locations, some now forgotten, of the events that shaped our country's history. For American Revolution history buffs, especially those interested in New Jersey history, this book is a real page turner.

   As a kid growing up in New Jersey I had only been taught the basics of what happened here during the Revolution. I had heard the names and stories of famous places like Trenton, Princeton, or Morristown. But these were only the tip of the iceberg. After reading the guide I was surprised to discover that New Jersey is filled with countless places, events, and people connected to the Revolution that have somehow been forgotten by the history books.

   For example, does anyone today know about the Battle of Springfield from which the classic image of Patriots skirmishing with Redcoats comes from? Or about the infamous Baylor massacre? Or the retreat of the American Army through Bergen County that inspired Thomas Paine? And what about names like Erskine, Lord Stirling, and Reverend Caldwell? And lets not forget George Washington's Secret Weapon!

   These stories are here in this book and they make for a great read. After reading several pages I was inspired to seek out these places and view them firsthand. Exact locations are provided in the guide. In fact, I learned that several of them were right in my own backyard. Down the street from where I live are places once occupied by Washington, Lafayette, and Cornwallis.

   The book is also the perfect reference guide for a family or school fieldtrip. Seems to me like a great way to get kids interested in American History... or anyone else for that matter.

   So go buy a copy and "Give em the Watts boys!"




2. First off, I am not History Buff nor do I have kids, but this book is very cool anyway...
   
   When you think of the revolutionary war, you think of Virginia, Massachusetts and Philadelphia. But New Jersey is just as important and in many ways more important than those states, however because it is so corporate and developed, you would never know this.
   
   The author does a great job of telling the story of the "unsung hero" of the revolutionary war (NJ).
   
   Whereever you are in NJ, there is a good chance there is a piece of history not too far - in fact, I live in Franklin Park and work in Warren and there are many places covered in his book that I had no idea existed that are a stones throw from both my office and my home.
   For example there is a house that dates back to the early 1700's that is at the end of a road right across from the National Starch and Chemical world HQ's that is at the end of an industrial road. Seeing it is very surreal - this is the only second place in his book I have gone to see so far, but I plan on going to many more (and hopefully dragging my fiance as well).
   
   Overall anyone who is interested in american history and who lives in or around NJ, this book is no doubt a must have.