No comments about Paris in the Sixties.

1 comments about Postmark Paris.

1. For lovers of Nick Bantock (Griffin & Sabine,), and Karen Elizabeth Gordon, (Deluxe Trasitive Vampire, and Paris Out of Hand,) this small volume is a time capsule of a young girl's year growing up in Paris. Told via her stamp collection, (1 colorful French stamp and one life-vignette per page,) it traces her year with her family and school friends until the end, when they must leave Paris to come back to the United States.

   Inspires anyone interested in collage, (although there are no collages in the book per se, I loved it anyway,) Parisian life, and stamp collecting.

   The only thing I wanted was more. Where is the author now? How did her stamp collection become this book? Why is this book out of print?? Alas.

No comments about Paris.

1 comments about Lonely Planet Best of Paris (Lonely Planet Encounter Series).

1. This book had a number of problems, including wrong address information for several sites, mislabeled maps, etc. The suggestions made were as per usual with LP guides, excellent, but when the map and direction goofs adding so much time in looking for things in the book or on the wrong streets, the advantages of having a pocket guideare quickly lost.

5 comments about A French Affair: The Paris Beat, 1965-1998.

1. As a 50 year old with a newly found love of Paris and, as a result, a desire to learn French, I bought "A French Affair" because it was recommended as shedding light on what makes the French act, uh, French. If this is the point of the book, then it only partially achieves the goal. A great deal of the book, however, is given to anecdotes about French film makers. Very nice if that's what you're interested in. If your interests are similar to mine, understanding the French, I'd come back to this book later. That being said, some of the articles were very good indeed.



2. Phew... Let me defend this book a little against a couple of odd criticisms. First, this is a collection of essays written over quite a few years. As such, it is not meant to be cohesive in the way a single book about the French might be. That said, it all hangs together quite well and is organized in an intelligent and useful way. It also seems a little odd to make a distinction between a book about "the French" and a book about the French which includes material about French filmmakers, writers, etc. I would think any book about the culture would be incomplete without fairly extensive sections on the arts. The arts are pretty inextricably linked with outsiders perception of the French and, to a large degree, their own perceptions about themselves. The people she talks about are hardly obscure or only of interest to "old people" --- Duras, Simone de Beauvoir, Truffaut, Doisneau for god's sake, whose photos adorn the walls of a hefty percentage of college kids to this day. Duras is a particularly amusing choice for such a book, as she seems more stereotypically "French" than perhaps anyone else in the whole country. Should the reader not know who any of these people are, the essays are written for a wide audience and do not assume knowledge of the subjects. And the style is certainly not coldly intellectual; the writing is intelligent, but quite breezy and very enjoyable.



3. Having lived and worked as an American in Paris for 7 years in the late 80's and early 90's, I really appreciated Ms. Blume's commentaries on the French and evocations of the details of Parisian life that made it so wonderful. She captures the sheer fun of observing and participating in a foreign culture better than any writer on the subject I've read to date. Her empathy for the French despite their quirks - naturally, only quirks when seen by an American - resonates well with my experience. Highly recommended!



4. I have visited France frequently, and am an avid reader of books about France. I loved the title and cover photo on this book, and had great hopes for the book since the writer had reported from Paris for The International Herald Tribune for many years. While the book is well written, I felt that many of the essays failed to connect with the French spirit and joie de vivre. I found some of the writing to be dry and the book slow. Each story was originally an article in the paper, and while they might have worked reading them with the morning coffee, they did not work for me as a collection.

   The book title would lead you to believe that the book is about France, some of the stories take place in other countries and I could not figure out how they ended up in the book. Additionally the last section of the book focuses on a group of European filmmakers that would have worked well as a Filmography, but for my money did not belong in a book of this title.

   Don't get me wrong, there are some interesting and well-written pieces in this book, but you have to trundle through pages that I feel are slow and dated to get to them. If you have not read much about France, I recommend Adam Gopnick's "Paris to The Moon," John Littell's "French Impressions," or for a humorous perspective any of Peter Mayle's "Provence" works. Of course, don't miss the grandfather of all books on France, Hemmingway's "A Moveable Feast."




5. I think A FRENCH AFFAIR will be best appreciated by those who have seen Paris once or twice. Those who have no familiarity with Paris and it's residents may become lost. If you know the difference between Simone de Beauvoir and Simone Signoret you may find the book entertaining.

   If I had not known Mary Blume wrote her Paris beat pieces for the International Herald Tribune, I would have thought they were written for The New Yorker magazine. She wrote tongue-in-cheek stories that begin in the middle and assume the reader already knows a great deal about Paris life. If she pops up in London you don't blink an eyelash because you know it's a day trip to travel from London to Paris, or Paris to anywhere else for that matter since Paris has made itself the travel hub of Europe.

   I read these articles over lunch--spread over a few months. I carried the book in my book bag and broke it out when I needed a little light reading. This is a perfect book for travel because if you put it away and don't look at it for a month you won't loose your train of thought. If you read it straight through it may be as disappointing as reading a week of newspapers.

2 comments about Fodor's Paris 2005 (Fodor's Gold Guides).

1. I've made >20 visits to France all together. Here are my reviews of the best guides....to meet your exact needs.....I hope these are helpful and that you have a great visit! I always gauge the quality of my visit by how much I remember a year later......this review is designed to help you get the guide that will be sure YOU remember your trip many years into the future. Travel Safe and enjoy yourself to the max!
   
   Fodor's
   Fodor's is the best selling guide among Americans. They have a bewildering array of different guides. Here's which is what:
   The Gold Guide is the main book with good reviews of everything and lots of tours, walks, and just about everything else you could think of. It's not called the Gold guide for nothing though....it assumes you have money and are willing to spend it.
   SeeIt! is a concise guide that extracts the most popular items from the Gold Guide
   PocketGuide is designed for a quick first visit
   UpCLOSE for independent travel that is cheap and well thought out
   CityPack is a plastic pocket map with some guide information
   Exploring is for cultural interests, lots of photos and designed to supplement the Gold guide
   
   Michelin
   Famous for their quality reviews, the Red Michelin Guides are for hotels & Restaurants, the Green Michelin Guides are for main tourist destinations. However, the English language Green guide is the one most people use and it has now been supplemented with hotel and restaurant information. These are the serious review guides as the famous Michelin ratings are issued via these books.
   
   MapGuide
   MapGuide is very easy to use and has the best location information for hotels, tourist attractions, museums, churches etc. that they manage to keep fairly up to date. It's great for teaching you how to use the Metro. The text sections are quick overviews, not reviews, but the strong suite here is brevity, not depth. I strongly recommend this for your first few times learning your way around the classic tourist sites and experiences. MapGuide is excellent as long as you are staying pretty much in the center of the city.
   
   Time Out
   The Time Out guides are very good. Easy reading, short reviews of restaurants, hotels, and other sites, with good public transport maps that go beyond the city centre. Many people who buy more than one guidebook end up liking this one best!
   
   Blue Guides
   Without doubt, the best of the walks guides.... the Blue Guide has been around since 1918 and has extremely well designed walks with lots of unique little side stops to hit on just about any interest you have. If you want to pick up the feel of the city, this is the best book to do that for you. This is one that you end up packing on your 10th trip, by which time it is well worn.
   
   Let's Go
   Let's Go is a great guide series that specializes in the niche interest details that turn a trip into a great and memorable experience. Started by and for college students, these guides are famous for the details provided by people who used the book the previous year. They continue to focus on providing a great experience inexpensively. If you want to know about the top restaurants, this is not for you (use Fodor's or Michelin). Let's Go does have a bewildering array of different guides though. Here's which is what:
   Budget Guide is the main guide with incredibly detailed information and reviews on everything you can think of.
   City Guide is just as intense but restricted to the single city.
   PocketGuide is even smaller and features condensed information
   MapGuide's are very good maps with public transportation and some other information (like museum hours, etc.)
   
   Lonely Planet
   Lonely Planet has City and Out To Eat Guides. They are all about the experience so they focus on doing, being, getting there, and this means they have the best detailed information, including both inexpensive and really spectacular restaurants and hotels, out-of-the-way places, weird things to see and do, the list is endless.
   
   Frommer's
   These are time tested guides that pride themselves on being updated annually. Although I think the guides below provide information that is in more depth or more concise (depending on what the guide is known for), if your main concern is that the guide has very little old or outdated information, then this would be a good guide for you.
   
   Rick Steves' books are not recommended. They may be an interesting read but their helpfulness is very poor. They don't do well on updates, transportation details, or anything but the first-time-tourist routine and even that is somewhat superficial on anything but the mega-major sites.



2. Once again, Fodor's puts out a great all-around travel guide. Fodor's divides its books into easy-to-use sections about everything-you-need-to-know-about-Paris-but-were-afraid-to-ask: the beginning section covers the practicalities of traveling to another countries (NO NEED TO TIP). The chapters are as follows:
   
   EXPLORING PARIS: The city is divided into sections. Suggested walks are given with maps of the area and detailed descriptions of the sights.
   WHERE TO EAT
   WHERE TO STAY: Maps are also provided for both of these.
   NIGHTLIFE & THE ARTS
   SPORTS & THE OUTDOORS
   SHOPPING
   SIDE TRIPS FROM PARIS
   UNDERSTANDING PARIS
   
   I found this to be an indispensable guide to finding my way around a city I've never been to before. Especially helpful was the suggested walks for seeing Paris in five days. This book also covers Versailles and other Paris side trips. The "Fodor's Choices" at the beginning list the top places to visit in the city.
   
   BEWARE: Fodor's lists "budget lodging" and "budget restaurants." I found that - especially with the current exchange rates - even the "budget" hotels, restaurants, and cafes to be a bit on the expensive side. If you really need to economize for a place to stay, you may need to do some additional internet searching.

5 comments about Rick Steves' Paris 2005.

1. Just finished a 5 night stay in Paris and Rick Steves' Paris 2005 was an indespensible guide. I used the book to read up on the main sites before going and it also has useful day planning guides. I also like the way that it doesn't waste space with loads of hotel reviews and restaurant reviews. Once you choose a hotel, which you can usually do better with TripAdvisor for more current information, that section of a guide book is then just wasted space. Anyway Rick's book was also very helpful in explaining how to catch the metro and how best to get to each tourist site. And face it, we're there to be tourists so I want to see the Eiffel tower, Notre-Dame etc, I don't want to read about some backwater art gallery if I only have four days. Rick also includes good city walks and guided tours of the main museums which saves you having to buy the audioguides at each museum. For the city walks though, I pretty soon got sick of looking at the book while walking down the street so I ended up just wandering around the neighbourhoods for awhile checking out the shops and cafe and then used the walk as a guide to find my way back out. The maps in the book are well designed and are of a convenient size for easy reference. I was able to carry the book with me everywhere and whip it out to find the nearest metro or street to the tourist site I was looking for. Overall this book made my trip very easy and enjoyable. I'm going to buy some more for my future trips to Europe.



2. I love his books and I loved this one. It has all the right info (museum hours and transportation info). The book was invaluable because it was so helpful in a variety of different ways. I even relied on his pronunciation guides. Thumbs up.



3. I'm glad I compared maps. The hotel I'd booked was incorrectly placed by the Stevens' map, more than 2 miles off. This made me leery about other information as well.



4. We had the great fortune to spend 3 days in Paris during the middle of May; an absolute perfect time to visit this fabulous city. This book went with us every second of our trip. We did Steves' walking tour which was 'heavenly.' This is the way to see Paris. The only problem we had was at the end of the first day my son noticed that we had spent an entire day doing what Rick does in one third of a day! We didn't care though as we never felt rushed and were able to backtrack or spend more time visiting all the wonderful shops. When we go back, this book will go with us again!



5. This is probably an adequate enough guide for a first time visitor, or for someone who has never made it out of Weehauken, New Jersey before, and is travelling on a student, or barely post-student budget.
   
   But beyond setting out the basic tours from Paris 101, the book is really, really skimpy on hotel and restaurant recommendations, and really, really heavy on flakking Rick Steves' products and tours.
   
   If you buy just one guide, there are many better choices.

2 comments about Adventure Guide to Jamaica (Adventure Guide to Jamaica) (Adventure Guide to Jamaica).

1. "[The authors] are known for their attention to details." Chicago Daily Herald



2. This travel guide walks with the adventurous traveler to the heart of Jamaica, to the miles of sand beaches, to the rugged Blue Mountains, to the country villages that provide a peek at the real Jamaica. The authors focus on the adventures this island has to offer: scuba diving along coral reefs, biking mountain trails, deep sea fishing, parasailing, windsurfing, horseback riding, and other adventures that range from mild to wild.

   Special sections include a look at Jamaica's Meet the People program, home visits, local nightspots, festivals, and more.

No comments about Gay Paris: Gay and Lesbian Paris (Gay Paris).

1 comments about London-Paris, 3rd (Country & Regional Guides - Cadogan).

1. A nice combination of cities that are commonly the two major destinations in a combined holiday vacation to the area.

   On the plus side, the book does a relatively good job of organizing and useful information for the traveler. While not as complete as a single destination guide (and there was no expectation that it would be), it generally does offer valuable information and good commentary.

   Perhaps it was just my imagination, but I gleaned what seemed to be a bit of a need by the authors to compare the two cities - with what was perceived by this reader to be a bias towards things Parisian.

   While I have visited both cities only about five or six times and am by no means an expert about either city, I did find this material about "getting around Paris" a bit off the mark: "The Metro [Paris] is a godsend to disorientated visitors; not only is it quick and convenient for travelling, but its stations serve as easy reference points for finding addresses. Contrasts with the London Underground are unavoidable. A ride in Paris consts less than half as much, and for that you get cleaner stations and faster service."

   Despite my lukewarm rating, I am still glad that I purchased the book.