5 comments about Party Europe, Second Edition (Now This Is Life).

1. I stayed in Prague, Paris, Madrid, Barcelone, Rome, London and Amsterdam. It was totally useless.
   If you are from a party country like Argentina or South America, or your are looking for places where local goes, this is not your guide.
   I know it is difficult to make a guide because places changes all the time, BUT I think this guide only looks for places that you can find in USA.
   
   It did not work for me...
   Of course, it is usefull to have a book with all the party places, but, on the road, just ask the guy of the hotel/hostel...or better...be social with the locals man!



2. I just got back from a semester abroad in Florence, Italy, and I was so glad I brought this book. It had great suggestions of all types of places to go out at night. The best part was that it gave a list of the "Hotspots" for every night of the week. This was helpful because it automatically clued you in on what places would be packed that night, even if you didn't know a single person in the city. If you plan on partying in Europe, this guide will tell you everything you could ever wish to know.



3. The book has detailed information for Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Capri, Florence, Ibiza, London, Madrid, Munich, Pamplona & the Running of the Bulls, Paris, The Rivieras, Rome, Venice but that is it. If you are going to alot of these places, this book will probably benefit you, but this is my third trip to Europe and I'm going to different cities not listed in this book, so it's completely not helpful. It's also kind of hard to follow and understand, picking 4 different types of travelers that you have to relate to, and not one of us on our trip did... Like I said, if you are going to many of these cities, it may be useful, but I highly recommend Let's Go Europe 2007. It was actually cheaper, includes every one of countries in Europe and I have yet to find a city it doesn't cover with very detailed info. and just as much or more of the party information found in Party Europe, written much better and easier to understand.



4. An excellent resource.
   
   One caveat: this book does not cover areas outside the most popular tourist destinations [but by inference it does provide what one may want to look for in those locales].
   
   Combine this with a good general Europe guide [we highly recommend Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door 2007] and give them a read BEFORE your departure and you will be doing yourself and your travel party a great service.



5. this is a great book for those who are looking to experience europe's party scene with many of the top spots in different countries covered. A+

3 comments about Around and About Paris, Vol. 2: From the Guillotine to the Bastille Opera: The 8th-12th Arrondissements.

1. Because Mrs Vallois has a love affair with Paris; because she devoted part of her life to this "cause", she is totally convincing. When you read her descriptions of hidden details on houses nobody noticed before, you understand that Mrs Vallois deserves the right to consider herself as co-owner of "the spirit of Paris". Because this "spirit" is something that was invented by the French to be shared with others, feel free to become a "courtisan". Mrs Vallois books are well documented (no need to say). It's like reading an architectural manual plus an history encyclopedia. All this while walking in charming places. I hope the next books will keep this knowledge embedded in a living style and that Thirza will add more illustrations. Buy this book. It will never look old-fashioned!



2. Great book!
   and now,
   Gentle Readers:
   
   You may have noticed that Amazon made some changes to its website. For more information, view that tube place at /watch?v=PvLilHUaDic.
   
   From June 11 - June 17, I, like many other reviewers on Amazon, did not post any reviews and did not make any purchases. This was the only means we have of showing Amazon how much we detest the new reviews format and the overloaded and confusing product pages.
   Amazon revised the product pages (if one looked very, very closely) to allow public input re the redesign. Now I am told, although I do not yet see it, that the "improvements" are being scaled back to a more palatable, user/shopper friendly format.
   
   Thanks and Stay Tuned!
   
   /TundraVision



3. As someone who has haunted Paris for decades, I can say that there is no more wonderful companion than Thirza Vallois. Her three volumes of Around and About Paris, covering every arrondissement with both erudition and joy, are almost as deep and rich and rewarding as the city itself. They are to be carried about for consulting on foot, and read in your armchair for pleasure and information you will not find in the run-of-the-mill "guide." These books are for explorers and dreamers, scholars and lovers. If you want to know Paris, you can not do better.

No comments about StyleCity Paris, Third Edition (Style City).

5 comments about A Corner in the Marais: Memoir of a Paris Neighborhood.

1. This book reminded me of William Murray's City of Soul, about Rome. Karmel is obviously in love with his Paris and it is infectious.

   The narrative about Karmel's first trip to Paris, then how he moved to Paris and bought an apartment in the Marais was intriguing, although his detours into the history of the neighborhood were less interesting. I found I wanted to know more about Karmel and his wife than about who had lived in his street two hundred years ago.

   And the photographs! There are some marvelous black and white Atget photos in this book and although there really isn't much going on in them, these studies of shadow and light are worth the price of the book alone.




2. man this book gets boring at times. it's more the history of the neighborhood and medieval and renaissance parisian life as it took place around the author's apartment building. Maybe the other books I've read about Paris are overly sentimental, but this book does little to invoke the romance of the city of lights.

   for instance: there is an entire chapter devoted to a legal wrangle which took place over the non-payment of taxes on the home, in which various people bickered over the ownership in the 17th century. this should have been at most a paragraph.

   there are some fascinating descriptions of period toilets,17th century french bathing habits, and 13th century house construction. the length of space devoted to meaningless crap is stunning.

   some bits of it are interesting. i love the marais, and thought it would give a sense of the personality of the area, particularly as the cover makes it seem like quite a warm book. it isn't. but if you want to know about feudal french land taxes and Cardinal Richeliu's preferred urinal (the fireplace), then this book is for you.




3. This is a great book to read while in Paris. With the book in hand, we easily found many points mentioned in it (and it answered some questions we had had while walking around the Marais on our own). It's very much a "labor of love" by someone who became intrigued by a small slice of history that, coincidentally, sheds some light on the broader picture over a long period. Anyone who enjoys history will envy the author's dig through old documents and records searching for even tangential mentions of his building, and the people associated with it. (Also recommended, for entirely other reasons: "Paris to the Moon," by Adam Gopnik.)



4. I loved this book, especially as I was staying a few doors down from his apartment in a hotel and it made my visit enhanced by his descriptions and thoughts.



5. I can't believe I actually skimmed through a particular chapter, I never, ever do that. It tried to bore me to tears with a tedious description of a wrangle over the ownership of an apartment 200 years ago!!! I love this area of Paris, and was hoping that the historical content of this book would leave me delighted... sadly not.
   There are some interesting descriptions of life at the time, however the book tends to only touch on the interesting bits and rave about the mundane. I kept hoping it would improve as I pressed on... unfortunately, it didn't.

1 comments about Around and About Paris, Volume 3: New Horizons: Haussmann's Annexation (Arrondissements 13 - 20).

1. As someone who has haunted Paris for decades, I can say that there is no more wonderful companion than Thirza Vallois. Her three volumes of Around and About Paris, covering every arrondissement with both erudition and joy, are almost as deep and rich and rewarding as the city itself. They are to be carried about for consulting on foot, and read in your armchair for pleasure and information you will not find in the run-of-the-mill "guide." These books are for explorers and dreamers, scholars and lovers. If you want to know Paris, you can not do better.

5 comments about Paris in a Basket: Markets : The Food and the People (Cookery/Food and Drink).

1. Beautiful photography and lively writing make this a perfect gift this holiday season (or any time) for anyone who likes to eat and loves Paris. Even for a longtime resident of the City of Lights like myself, this book brings another Paris to life, one you will want to explore again and again, in these pages and of course like the authors did themselves, bicycling through every arrodisement, leaving no quartier unvisited, no fromage untasted, no croissant unfinished! A magnificent and original hommage sure to earn its place among the classics of cuisine and travel.



2. I love this book! The cover roped me right in and before I knew it I was buying it. I am so glad I did. The book is organized by arrondissement; each chapter is devoted to one of them. They tend to focus on the biggest or best market in each arrondissement but they devote paragraphs to the others. The text itself is gracefully written and yet very convivial. For each of the main markets, the authors start you out on a typical Parisian morning and gently suggest the path you might want to follow as you navigate that particular market; it is almost as though they are walking along with you. They tell you what's available at each market and what are each market's strengths and weaknesses. You will be introduced to a lot of people - the butcher at the Marché d'Aligre, the poissonier at the Richard Lenoir, the organic farmer at the Batignolles market, the interesting old fellow who hawks bath salts as he soaks his feet in green water... I feel as though I'd be able to walk up to them and say hi. There's some history mixed in there, too, so you'll get to see some nice old photos and learn about everday Parisians of the past. And of course there are the recipes. Most of them appear delicious and a few rather exotic. Many of them come from the very people that you "met" in the chapter preceding, so you know they're authentic and the human element makes you want to try the recipe all the more.

   I love Paris. This book really gives you a sense of what it is like to be there - colorful, vibrant, stately, modern, classic, young, old... Paris is all of these things and more at once. I went there seven years ago and I don't think I hit a single market. This book makes me feel incredibly well-equipped; I think that without it I would feel a bit intimidated. I plan to go back and I'm gonna bring this book with me!




3. A must for anyone seeking out the real Paris, off the beaten track of tourist traps. Even if you can't visit more than two or three markets per visit to this wonderful city, this book will continue to be a major reference for seeking out these fascinating places of food, drink and 'objets'. Happy exploring!



4. Nicolle Aimee Meyer and Amanda Pilar Smith have created a book that is part travel guide, part cookbook, part biography -- and all wonderful! The photographs are terrific. The text brings the markets and their people to life. And I can't wait to try some of the recipes, which are for many classic French favorites. Altogether a complete success! Bravo!!



5. Although this book was written in 2000, when I saw it at a book boutique I bought it immediately...a fabulous book on a unique culinary culture for those who love to delve into french cooking recipes. I highly recommend it! The photos transport you back there and it has made me so homesick to return to Paris again even though I return there every year when I can to visit family there and have always made it a pilgrimmage to go to the Marches a few times a week, especially to the 'Richard Lenoir Marche at Place de La Bastille in the 11th arrondisement...you can spend the entire morning (they close at 1PM) there perusing from table to table and end your day walking home in the streets of Paris with a tote-ful of delicacies to prepare the sumptious evening 'repas'
   The varieties of each food are endless and fabulous and fresh, the colors of the fruits and vegetables are brilliant, the energy at the marches are exhuberant, and venders are so proud of their products...This book really does take you back to feeling like you are there in the midst of a culinary feast; the recipes are easy and with US measurements, and the descriptions of each arrondisement gives you such a personal tour that you feel akin to each personality they present you with. This is really the true colloquial joie de vivre experience in Paris-a way to commune with nature's bounty. I highly recommend this book; 5 stars!! a true feast for the eyes!!

No comments about Frommer's Portable Paris 2008 (Frommer's Portable).

5 comments about Best Buys and Bargains in Paris: (Yes, They Do Exist!).

1. This is a fun and useful book that has fed my many fantasies of traveling to Paris. When Jeanne Feldman writes of shopping for clothing in the "Fourteenth Arrondissement," you want to be there and see just what exactly the "Fourteenth Arrondissement" has to offer! Did you know that you can get a tax refund if you spend x number of dollars in a Parisian store? Feldman explains how this works, and much, much more.

   Paris is normally thought of as an expensive place to live -- and of course it can be -- but the author shows you how to circumnavigate this popularly conception of Paris. It may make an expatriate of you, as it apparently has of her.

   The book is divided into convenient chapters, so that whether you are eyeballing food, clothing, perfumes, supermarkets, wine, flea markets or more, she will send you to the right places once you read the right chapters. Because her prose is to the point, you won't be bogged down with unnecessary details. The book will fit conveniently into your day-pack or handbag.

   A satisfied consumer, Larry Fike )




2. I am not a shopper. My best friend put my feeling about shopping into words once, saying, "I regard time spent shopping as time that I am dead." Even so, I found the guide highly entertaining, very funny, and enlightening about cultural differences and similarities. I can see that it could be an invaluable guide for demon shoppers as well as phobic shoppers like me. I also like that it is so unapologetically idiosyncratic. Jeanne Feldman's personality comes through in the narrative -- very practical about getting a good deal and very astute in making observations about American and French ethos in the Agora.



3. From the very beginning of Jeanne Feldman's Best Buys and Bargains in Paris you realize that she is acutely aware of the cultural differences at play in France. Her advice is sure to make your shopping experience the pleasure it is meant to be and should appeal to everyone, from tourists eager to do a little shopping in Paris, to long-time expats who will certainly find some old and new favorites.



4. I didn't use this book at all. I found it disappointing. Instead of grouped by district it was grouped by category so if you were in a certain area it was hard to tell which stores were in that district.



5. As a frequent visitor to Paris and a dedicated schlepper I had high hopes when I read about some places that I didn't already know about in this book. Little did I know that 10 out of 12 places no longer existed and the 2 that did exist were extremely disappointing. I wasted many metro tickets, precious time in Paris not to mention the exhaustion/frustration factor. The author doesn't do her homework and the poor reader is the victim. I rate this book a minus 5 stars!

5 comments about The Paris Review Book: of Heartbreak, Madness, Sex, Love, Betrayal, Outsiders, Intoxication, War, Whimsy, Horrors, God, Death, Dinner, Baseball, Travels, ... Else in the World Since 1953 (Paris Review).

1. This book makes a perfect gift for both serious literature junkies and those who have blown off reading for the past fifty years. If the former applies to you, here's the best from the best. If you're in the latter category, this book will catch you up to speed. The Paris Review published the first chapter of Kerouac's ON THE ROAD, the first chapter of McInerney's BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CITY, the first chapter of Franzan's THE CORRECTIONS, etc., etc., etc. Obviously, they've been able to spot new talent from the day they started even to today. And of course, their fantastic interviews with writers themselves are legendary. A must for the collector and the neophyte alike.



2. I bought this book mainly for the interviews the magazine has had over the years, and some of them with notoriously reticent figures like Nabokov and Hemingway. But I was disappointed, because what really distinguishes a Paris Review interview from those of other magazines is how well they're edited, and how beautifully and naturally the conversations flow. All we get here is single paragraphs, usually just anecdotes, funny stories, little opinions: sometimes they're profound (see Edmund White's page) or just convey the author's personality well (Faulkner, Hemingway), but all of them just made me upset about not being able to read the rest of the interview.

   Of course there's not enough space. But I would have thrown out most of the other material. I doubt there was any way to make this collection totally succesful: if you pick only the famous stuff that the magazine has published over the years, it's sort of a waste, since most people would either have read the selection already or wouldn't want to read just an excerpt. A first chapter is useful to get you excited about an upcoming book, but unnecessary if the book's already been published. If you limit yourself to the more obscure material, well, it'll be good, but there's a reason that some people remain obscure.

   Not that I didn't get a lot of pleasure out of this book. Heather McHugh's poem, for example, is beautiful, and I never would have run across it if I hadn't picked this up. There are little wonders sprinkled throughout, but too much of the rest is familiar, just okay, or an unsatisfying little piece of something larger.

   I hesitate to put forward this criticism, since I have no idea how I could do it better - but I do know what book I would rather have read. If anyone down at the magazine (which I hope will rebound from the sad loss of Plimpton) can put together a big volume of complete, untruncated interviews, I would pay a princely sum for it. I've seen earlier collections, but nothing that covers the entire Plimpton era, and I think it would be easier to pick just the great interviews than to squeeze thirty plus years of wonderful material into this enjoyable but probably ill-advised collection.




3. Well I have never read a copy of the magazine The Paris Review but have subscribed to Granta since it started and subscribe to The New Yorker. The first story in the anthology "Terrific Mother" by Lorrrie Moore was enough for me to give this five stars - let's face it, where can you get such a thrill for $21? There may be some stories, poems, interviews, that don't grab me with the same electric immediacy as that first story, but I don't have to read it from cover to cover. It's one of those terrific bedside books as far as I'm concerned and an absolute joy to explore.



4. Reading anything can be a little time consuming if you're not into it, but this book strives to break-away from that by dividing up sections anyone can find interesting and paramount to their own lives as well as favorite authors interviews and intriguing samplings of written work. Read a lot or a little at time, but read it, its worth it!



5. I picked this up because I admire the editors at the Paris Review (past and present) and I wanted to acquaint myself, and my family with the variety of authors and their writing in the near immediate way that an anthology affords. The book is divided into topics: heartbreak, madness, sex, love, betrayal, etc., and the contributers span living and dead, male and female, young and old writers. In point of fact some pieces are interviews of the author on the topic, some are essays, short stories and other formats by them. Even if you've read their novels, it's interesting to see how they handle a topic in short form. If you have a mental check-list of important writers and want to taste their particular style and craft -- this book is for you. It is especially interesting to examine how pieces can become dated or continue to feel timeless, regardless of the mastery. Take a forkfull of radicchio then a piece of endive, or consume the entire bowel in one sitting. You are sure to enjoy this literary meal.

No comments about The Travels of Marco Polo (With 25 illustrations in full color from a fourteenth-century manuscript in the Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris).