4 comments about Frommers Spain's Best-Loved Driving Tours (Frommer's Best Loved Driving Tours. Spain, 4th ed).

1. We purchased this book in preparation for a road trip in Spain. The maps have no detail and serve no real purpose. The descriptions of locations and drives are scanty and the photos look about 25 years old. This time, the cover sold the book and the inside does not live up to it!



2. This book has a bunch of useless detail combined with a lack of context. If you knew a ton about Spain and just wanted to go to little excursions, and didn't mind not knowing much about what was suggested, and didn't mind getting totally lost because the maps are close to useless, then buy this book immediately. Otherwise, it's a total waste of paper.



3. I think this book was excellent in helping you plan for a driving trip through Spain. I used this book last year while driving along the east coast of Spain from Zaragoza. The photos are pretty acurate, and the information is still very true. As with all guide books, you have to use several to plan a wonderful trip, I would also recommend Lonely Planet: Spain and Rick Steves guide to Spain and Portugal.



4. I rated this book four stars based on others in the series I have found helpful. The reviews for this book do not seem to be for the current edition of the book. The most recent edition was published April 2000 and the reveiws are written before that date. The editorial information states the new book has been completely redesigned and updated. Anyone out there used the April 2000 edition?

No comments about The Travels of Vasco Da Gama (Explorers and Exploration).

No comments about Harpercollins Language Survival Guide: Portugal: The Visual Phrase Book and Dictionary.

2 comments about Spain: Interiors * Gardens * Architecture * Landscape.

1. I have found this book of very little help for those who want to get an idea of how Spain looks like. It seems it was written in the 19th century instead of in the 21st. The authors present (represent) Spain the same way it was pictured in many European and North American books of the 1800's and early 1900's: focusing mostly in the moorish buildings (which are not the majority in Spain)and the drafty rural houses. It seems that mostly shows, except for some pictures of Galicia, the misleading stereotype of Spain as a land of matadors, flamenco and moorish influence.
   I can't believe there aren't any pictures of Madrid, the capital of the country and with an enormous cultural heritage, Salamanca, with one of the oldest Universities in Europe, all the incredible cathedrals in Castile, the Renaissance buildings in Andalusia, the Cathedral of Santiago the Compostela and the Pilgrim's Path in Northern Spain (with a tremendous importance in Europe's Middle Age cristianity).
   The book omits the legacy of the Roman Empire, the palaces built during the Habsbourgs and the Bourbons, resulting in a very partial way to show the reader a general idea of Spain. It also surprises me that, in a book titled "Spain: Architecture,Interiors, Landscape, Gardens" there are the authors' political references to Spanish history, like when they say "...the infame Pizarro", refering to the conqueror of Peru, Francisco Pizarro.
   The conclusion is that most Spaniards will be offended reading this book, the foreign readers that have already visited Spain will think they visited a different country and, if they haven't been here yet, when they first visit, they will most likely have the feeling they arrived to a very different place .
   I planned this book to be a present for my girlfriend's family in the US, but I decided to return it because it would have not met my expectations: to show them an objective perspective of Spain's Architecture, Interiors, Landscape and Gardens.



2. I agree with the other reviewer, this book has concentrated on the areas exactly as he stated, however I still think this is a very nice book, and the pictures / places in it are very good. Spain is a beautiful place and this book is a bit one-sided, although to be honest I didn't even notice that until I read the other review.
   
   If you are interested in the things it does concentrate on, it is a very nice book. If you are looking for the things it has stayed away from, or you are looking for an overview of Spain, well it might not be the book you are looking for.
   
   Please note I have travelled all over Spain.

1 comments about Blue Guide Barcelona (Blue Guide).

1. I have just returned from a 8 day tour led by Michael Jacobs. He was extremely well informed and amiable. Before our trip I purchased his book on Barcelona. I found it to be very readable and entraining. On visiting Barcelona I found that his detailed descriptions of the architecture and art to extremely useful for the person who wants more than an ordinary superficial guide to the city. The only disadvantage to this book is that it is by its nature larger in size.

No comments about Insight Pocket Guide Bilbao and Northwest Spain (Insight Pocket Guides Bilboa and Northwest Spain).

No comments about National Geographic Traveler: Portugal (National Geographic Traveler).

1 comments about Frommer's Seville, Granada & the Best of Andalusia (Frommer's Complete).

1. I would highly recommend it.

5 comments about El Camino: Walking to Santiago De Compostela (Penn State Series in Lived Religious Experience).

1. An inspiring travelogue of the ups and downs of the life of a modern pilgrim. Great reflections on spirituality, religion, modernisation, architecture, and travel in the modern age. Lots of practical tips can be gleaned from his experience of the walk. It was one of the first books I read about the pilgrimage before setting out myself this past fall. Hoinacki taught me that this pilgrimage, although not original, is certainly experienced uniquely by each person who decides one day to just put on a pack and start walking, like he did. He decided that chocolate would be too much of an indulgence for the pilgrim. So he never ate chocolate while he was walking. I did. And lots of it!!

   P.S. I got my copy at Wide World Books and Maps in Seattle.




2. I was totally fascinated by this book. The descriptions of places and historical references were a great addition to understanding the signficance of the pilgrim's journeys, currently and in centuries past. The author's thoughts on technology, tradition, modernization and even aging were a marvelous commentary set against this ancient journey. As a result of a previous visit to Santiago and reading this book, I am even more moved to make my own journey on the camino.



3. While this book contains great descriptions of the camino, the refugios and the travelers along the way, I was unprepared for the screed against modernization and technology. Obviously, there are serious downsides to progress as we know it, but the relentless atttack on technology and the modern world borders on fanatical. It makes for a tiresome, if not predictable, read.

   As travel writing, it's perfectly adequate.You do feel like you are inside his head, brushing up against his thoughts and perceptions, occasionally tripping on his prejudices as he ambles through the 500 some odd miles from the French border to Santiago de Compostela. If you do decide to pick up this book, make sure you also read something that presents the camino and the people on it through different perspectives. I'm sure you could find a book about the camino that is a little less judgemental.

   As religious reflection, well, let's just say it's no Seven Storey Mountain and leave it at that.




4. I read this book while walking part of the pilgrimage route. It is a moving insightful book, really a meditation on what the pilgrimage route meant to him. It is not a guide book, but it was very meaningful to read and test my reactions against his. I highly recommend it.



5. This book is a superb book and a comfort for the Pilgrim
   According to the dictionary, the word pilgrimage derives from the Latin peligrinus, meaning foreigner or wayfarer. It refers to the journey of a person who travels to a shrine or holy place.
   Another older derivation, more poetic, reveals that pilgrim has its roots in the Latin per agrum: through the field. This ancient image suggests a curious soul who walks beyond known boundaries, crosses fields, touches the earth with a destination in mind and a purpose in heart.
   The book is a true guide to that purpose.

No comments about Drive Around Portugal, 2nd: Your guide to great drives. Top 25 Tours. (Drive Around - Thomas Cook).