5 comments about Enslaved.

1. I enjoyed this book because it immediately "enslaved" my imagination. If you are looking for a book to read just for pure enjoyment then I suggest this book. I also implore you to read it with the intention and realization that this is fiction, meant to be nothing more...nor nothing less.



2. You know i sometimes wonder if people are reading the same book i must admit that some of virginia henley books are a little out there but anyway...
   
   
   LOVED IT i detest time travel romance and this was a kind of getting my feet wet to it..the concept was good it was almost like a kismet thing.I think the heroine held her own and not too many heroines can say they lost their virginity twice and loved both Marcus/Mark...good story you know historical romance novels it goes with the time and period of how they would act.
   
   its like i always say a bad reivew can really downplay a good book and a good review can really up play a bad book, because of some of the bad reviews for this book I almost didn't read it but i'm glad i change my mind



3. I adore this book. It is my favourite historical romance novel. I totally fell in love with the heroine and the hero. Diana is the epitome of femininity and sensuality and Mark/Marcus is the virile Roman conquerer. If I were a story book character I would want to be Diana who is portrayed as a perfect goddess. Mark/Marcus is a dream lover come to life when you turn the pages of this treasure. I was deeply touched by the way the love unfolded between the two characters, how their mutual contempt turned to passion and lust then into love.



4. This book was so high rated on Amazon I had to read it myself. The story had some very high moments, but some not so great ones as well. I wasn't happy with the way the romance played out, it was very unsatisfying to me. Also, there were too many sex scenes in the book. Yea, one when the characters get together is very satisfying, but the book verged on soft core porn. I also wasn't thrilled by some of the things our Hero did, though he seemed to redeem himself... at times. Allin allthe story was great, but I wasn't thrilled with the results. I wouldn't want to discourage anyone from reading this book, there were moments that were great, it just wasn't my cup of tea.



5. This is definitely one of the best romance books I've read historical or not. It is the story of Lady Diana Davenport who lives in regency England and is totally dismissive of men of her age as fops and fools. But this is all about to change; Diana is transported back in time, where Bath was ruled by Romans! She becomes the prisoner of General Marcus Magnus, a hardened soldier who is certainly not a fop but someone she could fall for if only he wasn't so arrogant and infuriating. But the passion between them is to much for either of them to ignore so we are treated to some very explicit love scenes (this is a Virginia Henley book after all, so it was expected). But the tension and the growth of feelings between them are palpable, not just descriptive and this is what saves the book of being just an erotica. Henley does a wonderful job at describing them as soul mates and the troubles they have to face until they get together(mainly caused by Marcus brother in the past as well as in the future) only add to the incedible suspense and tension.
   
   This is a lovely book, so please do not dismiss it as another erotica. I have read many "proper" romances where the feelings of the heroes and the situation bringing them together are of much less concern than in this book and if you get past the intense love scenes (the story can stand perfectly well without them), you won't be able to let it out of your hands.

5 comments about City Walks: Rome: 50 Adventures on Foot (City Walks).

1. A splendid concept: Fifty 6.5 x 3.75 hard cards, each with a little map on one side, and on the other descriptions of the area's sites, even with dining suggestions. Most guides lack adequate maps; this one provides mapping with a vengeance.
   
   Why then only four stars? The Porta Maggiore, Santa Croce, San Lorenzo fuori le Mura, San Paolo fuori le Mura, The Borghese Gallery, the Villa Giulia, and The Vatican (Museums and San Pietro) are omitted. Well, I suppose something had to be left out, but why the Vatican? Every schoolboy knows the two poles between which Rome revolves are the Forum and the Vatican. If there's a card for those born to shop (#4, The Via Condotti), then why not one for Christians? I had suspected at first Cultural Marxist PC crime, yet the author's laudatory use of B.C. and A.D. suggests otherwise. Yet A.D. comes before the year, thank you, not after.
   
   There are factual errors that a good editor should have caught; e.g., The Aurelian Walls were built after A.D. 270, not 270 B.C. The site descriptions are very brief, needing as they do to fit on the back of a card. So pilgrims (religious, historical, aesthetic, gustatory) would need another guide for the detail. _The Blue Guide Rome_ in its latest edition, _The Oxford Archeological Guide to Rome_, and _The Companion Guide to Rome_ (A.D. 2003 ed.) would serve all purposes except for shopping, eating, and sleeping.
   
   For those who wish not to lug a book, a commendable job.



2. The deck is made of heave paper board. We will not be taking it with us. I did enjoy the recommended paths. Have made a choice of several routes that I scanned on #24 paper to take with us.



3. We recently spent 4 days in Rome, staying in a wonderful apartment we found on the internet. While we had a number of tour books and information we downloaded from the internet, we mostly used our City Walks: Rome cards to organize and follow a daily walking tour. Rome is quite compact and you can walk to most sites, or take a quick cab ride if pressed for time. We often did two or even three walking tour cards in one day. They are clear and useful while walking from one point to another, and if you work it well, you can start one where another ends. We stayed near Piazza Navona, which we found very convenient for The Villa Borghese, The Vatican, the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, the Coliseum, The Spanish Steps and some of our favorite restaurants. We have now given these cards to several of our friends that where going to Rome, and they loved them as well.



4. This is a fun deck of cards. Having been to Rome a couple of times, I know that a first time visiter will also need a more detailed street map to go with this set. I look forward to using them on my next trip.



5. I didn't find the cards too useful for information. They do provide a simple route to follow though which is good. Rome has so much to see and these cards provide some info but not enough for a repeat visitor looking for more to discover. The cards would be easy to carry and also you can combine more than one card to allow a longer walking tour of an area.

5 comments about The Colosseum (Wonders of the World).

1. This is a rather specialized account of the Colosseum, and any student intending to visit the structure should read it. It debunks some myths about the place, but shows that it is a fascinating world wonder which deserves the attention of all visiting Rome. The research seems impeccable.



2. The Colloseum in Rome is arguably one of the five most famous buildings in the world but there are very few books about it. At least I have found that to be the case, as I have always had a fascination for the place. May this is the macabre side of me coming out. But it is not just the gladiatorial contests and many other blood letting contests that went on including wild animals fighting both humans and one another or the naval battles that were fought there. Yes naval battles, with real ships and the arena flooded with water. I readily admit that I find these interesting and have done for many years.
   
   However the main attraction of the Flavian Amphitheatre, to give it its correct name is its architectural beauty. It is a building that we would be hard pressed to replicate today, even with all the modern building techniques that we now possess. A building that could fill with people and empty at the end of the games quicker than most modern football stadiums. A building that has stood the test of time. It is only vibration and pollution from modern day traffic that is now affecting the building more than the last two thousand years ever have.
   
   A building that had more happening underground than ever happened above ground. Gladiator quarters, infirmaries. Lifts and hoists moved by an intricate network of pulleys and cables, that allowed wild animals to be brought up to the arena level.
   
   This book tells you everything you need to know and more. It is well written And has some illustrations, but these are secondary to the excellent text.



3. This is a scholarly analytic type book that investigates not only the colliseum building itself,but the spectacles that took place inside.The book also describes why the Colliseum was built as well as how it was bulilt.The Colliseum according to my read of the book was an important propoganda and public education tool of the Roman rulers.It showed the populace that not only had Rome conquered,but that all the beasts and "savage peoples" of the world were Roman possesions for amusement.The building may have also served as a warning,"you too could end up here" and was an outlet for high risk takers to make a name and a fortune. Also alot of these gladiatorial spectacles were actually public executions of criminals,the sword of a gladiator maybe no worse than the electric chair or gas chamber!Unfortunately no work on the Colliseum has covered the gambling on an immense scale that must have gone on at these events.For one I have always thought that the Gladiatorial helmet that is always used in movies and art appears awkward. It seems as if the fancy ornate designs and rims would block not just the peripheral view but about every other one as well.The author points out that these helmets that were found in the buried ruins of Pompeii may have actually been "parade helmets",used for the pre-fight spectacle to identify and give status to the Gladiator.In the arena he may have found such a helmet in fact a great disadvantage. That's the kind of research contained in this book.In regard to the wild animal fights the author spends alot of time breaking down and analyzing the industry that was involved in transporting "wild beasts" of all descriptions from various parts of the world. It must have been a great part of Rome's GNP.The author also questions alot of the traditional source material for acounts in regard to the Colliseum and its spectacles.It seems in times past that writers may have been as prone to exaggerations as they are today.You'll leave this book with a good knowledge of "the Games" and realize that alot of them were anything but "fair contests" between men and beasts.Rather alot of stage theatrics and "smoke and mirrors".Could it be that the the Roman popes banned these spectacles not only for the brutality,but because they were just plain boring.In fact these games were continued on well into the Roman Christian era,so there may not have been an initial Christian "moral outrage" when Rome was Christianized under Constantine.Anyway,I got my tickets to my first(and last) game from a scalper who had "copped them" free from a "charity organization"On the final page I seriously believed that the Retiarius Gaius was using steroids,and someone had spilled their greasy nacho cheese on my"Gladius" t-shirt.I also had to move 2 seats over because I believed the man next to me was coming down with a case of "bubonic plaque"That's how real this book is.



4. Small though it may be, this wonderful book contains a wealth of information on the Colosseum. The authors - scholars in this field - very ably guide the reader along this amazing structure's long journey through the ages up to the present, debunking myths along the way. Although details on the formidable challenges faced by those who built the Colosseum are relatively few, its history and archaeology, as well as snapshots of the lives and times of those who used it and performed in it, more than compensate. Occasionally, the authors challenge the "generally accepted" interpretations of some of the often-sparse archaeological and historical evidence and offer alternative views. Near the end of the book, useful advice for the potential visitor is provided, followed by an extensive bibliography. The writing style is clear, friendly, authoritative and quite lively. This book can be enjoyed by anyone, but especially by those fascinated by ancient history and archaeology.



5. All the reviews here so far were written on the tourist side, not the scholar's. The great merit of this book, in my view, is that it fits both audiences in a very nice manner. Scholars would of course expect a more exhaustive treatment, but it's striking that there are almost no other academic books devoted to the subject of the Colosseum. Many studies on this building and other amphitheatres concentrate on technical, architectural issues, but this book offers concise and clear analyses on social aspects of gladiators, the interpretations of the Colosseum through the ages (a fascinating part!) and other varied issues. Profs. Hopkins and Beard are two leading authorities in Roman History, but their text is lively, fluent, good-humored and very pleasant - I wish all scholars could write like this! Therefore: for specialists, it's not a thorough book, but very welcoming all the same.
   
   As for the occasional interested tourist, as others here have also said, this book is as useful, appealing and enjoyable as it can be. Having been to the Colosseum myself, though, I don't agree with the advice of getting there one hour before it closes (last entrance allowed is at 3PM). Packed crowds of tired tourists with noisy kids are better to be avoided if you want to take your time inside, so get there as early as you can. Also, like the authors, I strongly recommend a visit to the nearby Palatine - but get a good guide, so that you can understand the ruins you're seeing (use Oxford Archeological Guide, Coarelli's book, or even Blue Guide Rome).

No comments about Blue Guide Central Italy with Rome and Florence, First Edition (Blue Guides).

4 comments about Fodor's Essential Italy, 1st Edition: Rome, Florence, Venice & the Top Spots In Between (Fodor's Gold Guides).

1. I've been looking at a bunch of guides for planning an Italy trip this summer, and this is the best so far. It's not as big as other guides, but it's got as much information about the places I'm going as the other guides do, and it also manages to throw in little things that are unique, like an interview with a winebar owner in Venice, explaining the local winebar customs and no-nos.



2. I used Fodor's to map out my itinerary to ensure I saw everything I wanted to see and experienced Italy in all its glory. It explained the "must sees" very well and concisely.
   
   The map was handy but not as good as other maps purchased in a book store which had more detail right on the map of the places to see so we did not have to carry the book around.
   
   Tips on how to avoid the long lines were very accurate.



3. I just graduated college and decided to go on a backpacking trip through Europe. We spend about a week in Italy, and this book was somewhat helpful, but not ideal.
   
   The food suggestions were generally for slightly higher budget travelers, and the organization didn't really fit our travel style.
   
   If you are backpacking or just a young person looking for a good travel book, our group had a good experience with the MTV Europe (MTV Guides)book. It was kind of bulky, but we used it nearly everyday.
   
   If you are considering this book or something from the Eyewitness series, I would definitely go with the Eyewitness book. It may be more expensive, but it will be vastly more useful. In Rome I ended up purchasing Rome (Eyewitness Travel Guides) from a bookstore, and wishing I would have just bought the whole Italy book off Amazon in the first place.
   
   Bottom line, if you are cheap or on a budget, I would look at other books, but this will get the job done if you are looking for some nice places to eat and stay.



4. I've never been disappointed with a Fodor's guide until now. Although the information is very good, as usual for Fodor's, the maps are terrible. In particular, the pullout map is almost useless; many streets are shown, but not marked with a name -- and why does a guide for Rome, Florence and Venice not have a pullout map for Florence? Even the maps within the guide itself are disappointing -- names are printed in black, but the maps themselves are in orange ink, making them hard to read, and once again they lack enough detail to find your way in a strange city. Fodor's should check Rick Steves' Italy guide to see how to do a map. If you choose this as your only guide for an Italian trip, make sure your first action in any of the three cities is to buy a good map! (I particularly recommend the Berendtson map of Venice, and the Editricelozzi map of Rome.)

4 comments about Michelin Green Guide Rome (Michelin Green Guides).

1. I have used the Michelin Green Guides on many trips to Italy. They have always provided accurate information in an easy to use format. I particularly like that they are small enough to pack in a suit easily. This might not sound like much to you. But I am a one carry-on suitcase kind of girl, so I don't have much room to spare for lots of travel guides. I always have at least one Michelin Green Guide in my suitcase for each new adventure.
   
   The writers do a nice job of provided walking directions through Rome to maximize your sightseeing opportunities. I love to walk around Rome. It is such a beautiful city that can only be truly appreciated up close. Just be sure to wear comfortable shoes. The street are very uneven and unless you have gel inserts in your hard soles shoes you feet might give out before you do. I have been known to walk 10 miles a day in Rome without trying to. It is very easy to get carried away and just want to see more.
   
   Be sure to check out a few of the outdoor markets that are outlined in the book. These are so much fun. I like them almost as much as the museums.
   
   The floorplans of the museums that are provided are very useful and I would recommend copying those before you leave to have with you if you don't plan to take the book.
   
   One overlooked sight in Rome that I love is the Baths of Caracalla. If you are there in summer check to see if they are having the outdoor concerts at night, they are worth attending. Even without the concerts the scope of the Baths is worth seeing. It is fascinating what the Romans were able to accomplish in AD 212.
   
   I would highly recommend the Michelin Green Guide to Rome to anyone that is planning a trip to Rome, be it their first trip or their tenth.



2. I've browsed and borrowed several guidebooks, and the ones I relied on for taking with me and walking around with (as opposed to pre-trip research) were Fodor's, and Michelin's Green Guide for Rome. The latter has no restaurant or hotel information, but excellent historical and cultural notes--more than some people want, perhaps. My only criticism of it is that the index is not good: some listings are under the Latin or Italian names, (many churches are found under the listing "chiesa" for example),some are under the English translation names, and some important topics or sites are not actually listed in the index at all, but they do appear in the book. Topics are well-organized into walking itineraries.



3. Caravaggio's Conversion of St. Paul, in the church of Santa Maria Del Popolo, is a deathless masterpiece. People of all ages, from all countries of the world, stand in front of it in silent awe. Some of them weep. This is what the Michelin guide has to say about this painting: "The effect of the divine light illuminating St. Paul on the road to Damascus should have been sublime but it falls first of all on the hourse, which is out of proportion, before touching the foreshadowed figure of the saint." Oh, excuse me, Michelin man, it's a shame you weren't around in the 17th century so you could give Caravaggion lessons in proportion! Then there's the column of Marcus Aurelius, which as been transfixing travelers to Rome for nigh on two thousand years now: "The overall appearance is spoiled by the lack of entasis two-thirds of the way up the shaft, which would have avoided the impression of concavity." Spoiled! And here I was, along with maybe a hundred million people before me, thinking the spiraling reliefs of victory and disaster were something pretty damn special and reasonably unspoiled to see. And please forgive me for not having any idea what the heck "entasis" means. The star rating system of this guide will only lead you to the places you already knew you should go and see--the guide gives one or no stars to places that are not only magnificent, but which will be, even on a July afternoon, cool, silent and empty of the multitudes. The Rough Guide to Rome is a much better book. Or just follow your nose, your eyes and your heart--in the Eternal City, they can't steer you wrong.



4. The Michelin Green Guide is still the best. The history and tours will turn you into your own expert guide. The star system lets you select the best spots to visit within your time frame. It will fit in your pocket, but it is not a light weight guide. Durable and easy to use, it is a classic.

1 comments about The Rough Guide to Rome 3 (Rough Guide Travel Guides).

1. This book has loads of detailed information about the major sights, as well as suggestions for less mainstream things to see. I'm giving the book four stars instead of five only because some map addresses were mixed up in the Borgo neigborhood (near the vatican), but this really wasn't too hard to figure out once I asked for directions.

2 comments about Knopf MapGuide: Rome (Knopf Mapguides).

1. I had checked out a book from the local library and liked it so much I came on amazon to buy that book, Fodor's Rome's 25 Best, 6th Edition (25 Best). Amazon then recommended this book to me and after looking it over decided to give it a try.
   
   My wife and I went on a 12 day cruise of the Med and ended that we 3 days in Rome right before Thanksgiving 2006 (Nov. 2006). This book more than paid for itself with all of the helpful reviews in it and suggestions. But the topper for me was the quality and size of the maps. We looked enough like tourists in the city, but this little book and it's fold out maps helped us look a little less so. They were more than details enough, and having suggestions on them we found a wonderful place to eat one night, it was great.
   
   If you want something that is small and compact, yet still provides great details in terms of maps of a city this is the book for you. And there is no huge map to fold and unfold as you walk around a city. This book breaks the city in to sections and based on where you are you have only a small map to easily unfold and use.
   
   I highly recommend this book.



2. Ok.. I am a travel book freak. This is the best travel guide around. I have about seven of them Barcelona,Rome,Naples,New York, Venice etc... Everything about this guide is great. Visually great ...Small fits in
   your pocket or small purse Great maps.. hard to get lost even in Venice. Great recommends ,hotels, food and.. I am a shopper.. Absolutely great & unusual shops ..None of the bad tourist gear only the styling gear.. .I had five guides to Rome over two trips to Rome this is the one we used every day...Do not go anywhere without this guide if there is one available for the destination Im will be traveling to....

5 comments about Four Seasons in Rome: On Twins, Insomnia, and the Biggest Funeral in the History of the World.

1. In "Four Seasons in Rome: On Twins, Insomnia, and the Biggest Funeral in the History of the World," Anthony Doerr accepted a fellowship with the American Academy of Arts and Letters in Rome, Italy and together with his wife, Shauna, and their newborn twins, they moved to Rome. The author wrote about his experience in Rome, trying to adjust to the way of life there as well as having to manage two babies. He also spent some time talking about Rome in a more unconventional sense (different from a travelogue) focusing on the history and literature.
   
   This was an okay read for me as I had hoped the author would focus more about the culture and people in Rome. It almost felt like he was writing about his own experience as a new father having to deal with both work and that Rome was just the backdrop of all that was happening. He spent a considerable time talking about authors and literatures which were not very interesting for me. The most fascinating part of "Four Seasons in Rome" was his coverage of the Pope's funeral and his observation of the people who adored and loved the Pope. It was just an average read for me - if you are looking for a travelogue type read, this would definitely not be in. This is more of a part memoir, part travel type book.



2. As an American who moved to Rome to have a baby, I can relate to this book. My experience is different. I live with an Italian and all my friends are Roman, but I still found Doerr's observations lyrical and prescient. As a new father, I actually enjoyed how he was learning the city as he became a parent, an experience I know and grok completely. It was useful to see how someone had to endure a lot of the same difficulties that I have experience. How often do you get to read something parallel to your own life? I also enjoyed his descriptions. For me they came quite close to my own observations, as distant as they may be (a fact that he acknowledges). I read the book on a the train from Rome to Turin, so it's something that is quite fast and easy on the mind. Additionally I enjoyed his sense of impermanence and how that is a character of Rome. Bravo!



3. 4 Season's in Rome, is essentially a story within a story. Doerr struggles day in and day out with trying to write his next novel, while living in a foreign land, and raising his first TWO children (they're fraternal twins). Throw in the death of one of the greatest religious figures of the 20th century and it makes for a very interesting time spent abroad. In the end, his next novel, becomes this story about trying to to write his next novel.
   I think if you've been to Rome and lived there, this book will invoke those memories of a magnificent place. You can sympathize with what he has gone through.



4. I thought it would be a tale of The Great Man writing about being the father of twins whilst the drudgery of actually caring for the babies is in the background. But, being a tragic Italophile, I knew I had to read it eventually. Am so glad I did. The author is a truly devoted parent, yet still possesses a sweet innocence himself towards this beautiful, new-to-him world of Rome. Just as one of the boys is wide-eyed over a taste of chocolate, the author seems reborn at the sight of the glorious skies Rome (apparently) has, the food, the poetry of the language. The writing is gorgeous but not in the artificial MFA manner (maybe he has one, I don't know)--it's genuine and vivid and...tangible. It reawakened in me a desire to not just read more American fiction, but to pull my old drafts off the shelves and see if I, too, could conjure up some similar magic. In one sense my prejudice was correct, though--with his love of family and openness and sense of humor about the world and himself, Four Seasons in Rome did turn out to be the tale of what seems to be a [lower case] great man. (One commentator "denounced" the author as "liberal"; what Doerr seems to be, of course, is humane.)



5. If you know next to nothing about Italy, are never planning to visit, and are perfectly content to allow your impressions of the country to be informed by *Under the Tuscan Sun*-like romanticism and shameless, treacly sentimentality, then *Four Seasons in Rome* is the travel book for you. Otherwise, Doerr's constant doses of high-sugar, low-fiber commentary about his and his family's year in Rome are only going to have you reaching for your insulin pen. Are we really (I mean, are we REALLY??) still at the stage where someone can publish a book about Italy in which his entire contribution to the genre is to rehearse postcard stereotypes and Merchant-Ivory clichés? Call me simple, but I'd truly have thought the market was completely glutted with sixteenth-of-an-inch thick observations on how "wonderful" and "beautiful" Italy is--made by people who don't speak the language, who never stop being tourists, and whose apparently unlimited financial and other resources insulate them entirely from the realities of Italian life. Being a casual visitor is a fine and respectable pastime, but it doesn't qualify you to write a book. Doerr, however, is undaunted, awhirl in whimsy and wide-eyed wonder. From his innocent astonishment that tomatoes actually taste good (he does live in Boise, Idaho, after all) to his tired (and tiring) insistence that he and his wife never saw a badly dressed Italian--or a fat one--to his second-rate tour-guide rhapsodies over the Pantheon, Doerr never lets a bromide or a platitude get away from him. When a Roman waiter makes him and his wife wait 90 minutes for their dinner check, Doerr's only reaction is to go all dewy-eyed over how "relaxed" and "laid back" people are in Italy. Please, Anthony. The waiter was rude. There's no great mystery to it. It happens all the time in Italy, especially to tourists, especially in Rome, and especially to people who are willing, as the Italians say, to fare il fesso--that is, let someone else make an a** of them. Gird your loins as well, Gentle Reader, for page after darling, cooing page about the marvel of Doerr's one-year-old twins and for detailed descriptions of just how darn difficult it was to try to wheel them around Rome in a double-stroller that I can only imagine was a special treat for all the people who had to contend with it on buses, down sidewalks, and in museums. But let's give credit where credit is due: Doerr's prose is pretty, even poetic. The trouble is, that's often all it is: a Fabergé egg, a festoon, the rich-and-creamy icing on a cardboard cake. In his 220-plus pages on Rome, there's almost no there there. (Don't be misled, either, by the subtitle's promise of information about "the Biggest Funeral in the History of the World"; Doerr didn't actually attend, and most of what he knows about it he saw on television.) In more than a few passages, he gets so carried away making perfect little netsuke sentences that he forgets he's supposed to be transmitting actual meaning in the process. Yes; I admit it. I have a bone to pick: Doerr has nothing particularly interesting, profound, insightful, or new to say about Italy. That sure didn't keep him from getting a book contract, however, which suggests that attending the right cocktail parties is a sure shot to success. Merit, while appreciated, is not required. And *Four Seasons in Rome* is yet more evidence that, when it comes to anything with the word "Italy" stamped on it, the American public is all too willing to fare il fesso.

5 comments about The Civilized Shopper's Guide to Rome.

1. This is a wonderful book for anyone to use as a "behind the main streets" guide to Rome. If you any desire to experience the real Rome rather than just falling in step with the thousands of tourists, this book will lead you to wonderful shops and experiences. Buy it long before your trip and study the routes. You will not be sorry.



2. Excellent idea, nicely executed, but 4 years is too long for a book like this not to be updated. About half of the restaurants/shops listed are no longer in existence. Much of the remaining information is no longer accurate.
   It does provide a somewhat surreal experience to follow a map to an address only to find a car dealership where you expect a leather boutique to be. Otherwise i'm afraid this edition is fairly useless.



3. I found this while looking for a good guidebook for my daughter to take to Italy. She was accompanying a friend of mine who loves to shop and this was the perfect little thank you gift to give to her before they left. It is very small (easy to carry on-board or while actually shopping), with one shop per page. It is aimed more at the little specialty shops and boutiques so I don't know if she was actually able to put it to use this trip, but she enjoyed getting it. My only worry is that since the book is several years old, I wonder how much of the information is outdated. Still, the perfect gift under the circumstances.



4. I love Rome. Off the beaten path and local favorites are my travel passion, and the shopping in Rome can't be beaten! So this book-ette, seemed a good choice. But I have to say, of the 46 books, and some odd hundred websites I comb looking for hidden secrets, this one is just okay. Its very small (about 4x4 inches) and difficult to read easily. So many of the suggestions are obvious and cliche. Though I do have two pages tagged for my upcoming visit.
   
   I would consider it a fun and pretty gift for someone visiting Rome for the first time. Otherwise, save your pennies, they will be better spent on plastic rosary from St. Peter's square.



5. I've lived in Rome for years and often recommend this guide to friends. Not only is it tiny (and thus fits in a pocket), but it includes many wonderful little places that locals know and love and that tourists may miss completely.