5 comments about The Rough Guide to The Baltic States - 2nd Edition.

1. Number of Estonians is 68 percent, not 65 percent. Go pick up a Lonely Planet book instead!



2. The product was in excellent shape when I received it. The book looked as if it were new and bought right off the book store shelf.



3. This book provides some interesting background information about the countries, but was not organized very well to serve as a reference on-the-fly. While you may be interested in reading about Latvian daina song-poems from your living room before leaving on your trip, you'll find yourself cursing all that information when you're just trying to find some specific tip on bus routes to the ethnographic museum. If your itinerary is going to focus mainly on the capital cities, as mine did, I would highly recommend the book Bradt Baltic Capitals. It was infinitely more useful than the Rough Guide, cheaper, and half the size and weight.



4. Any author of a travel guide to the Baltic States is left with a formidable task: Words and still photographs don't do justice to these truly exceptional destinations. Add to that the daunting task of trying to keep listings current for three of the most dynamic and popular tourist destinations on earth. In particular, the capital cities are booming with prosperity, largely based on the tourist trade, and institutional details change constantly. Faced with these difficulties, this guide is still the best of the bunch. Bradt does a nice guide to the capital cities, but that doesn't help much for people interested in such lovely places as Kaunas and Tartu, or the idyllic rural settings outside the cities. This book crams an enormous amount of material into a dense, compact package. Despite one reviewer's claim to the contrary, Rough Guides are smaller and lighter than the Bradt guides. You'll need to buy three of those to gather the equivalent content offered in this book.
   
   Tallinn, Riga and (especially) Vilnius are so startling upon first sight, no amount of historic or cultural context is going to give you the blast of adrenaline you'll feel as your taxi scoots you through the town square on the way to your hotel. You simply have to see and feel these places directly. That said, Rough Guide has made (in this updated edition) a dedicated effort to improve the quality of the pragmatic material in the book. You're still not going to find the details of bus routes and timetables, but the hotel and restaurant listings are up-to-date and accurate. True to Rough Guide form, however, the author reveals his love of all things historic and cultural, which fits nicely with the book's standard format.
   
   A few words of caution: Remember, these three small countries are shaking off the communist experiment, and that takes some time. While the old town centers are generally restored, there's still a palpable grit to the Baltic States. Don't expect Vilnius to look like Vienna, or Tallinn to look like Prague, or Riga to look like Stockholm. These towns are far smaller than their central European and Scandinavian sisters, and they're ringed by nasty industrial suburbs that can (but shouldn't) put you off. I mention this because the guide doesn't make this observation. Also, don't buy this book if you're looking for a photo essay. Rough Guides are all about words and simple maps. Go to Flickr if you want a nice preview in pictures.
   
   From the medieval Protestant alleys of Tallinn to the baroque splendor of Catholic Vilnius, this guide's got your back. But as another reviewer noted, these destinations are among the most popular in the world (the wonderful combination of beauty and affordability), so sit down with this book and do your homework BEFORE you get on the plane.



5. I had used the first edition to help plan our 3 plus week trip to the Baltic states during May, 2008. But since it was published several years ago, I decided to buy the the 2nd edition (early 2008) which came out a few weeks prior to our leaving for our trip. How frustrating and what a waste of money. Much of the information had not been updated, many places had been closed for over 2 years. There are mention of new things coming in 2006!!! So what happened??? - needed serious editing by folks that "had boots on the ground" - not just using the internet for some updates. Thankfully, I had the Bradt guide and, best of all, were the up to date "In Your Pocket" guides which you can download free or buy light small magazine style when you arrive (check out online for cities and countries) for about 2-3 dollars and have the most relevant info, including up to date cultural & entertainment info. No more Rough Guides for me, if I can avoid it.

5 comments about The Time Travelers Academy.

1. Wow!!! I purchased and read the book in its entirety and loved it!!! Before I purchased the book I read the synopsis and utilized the search inside option... Just what I was looking for in a time travel book. This book is perfect for young adults or those who just love a good time travel book. Its a mixture of romance, action and adventure.
   
   The story line is very easy to follow from start to finish. Professionally written and professionally edited. A great book that would make a great movie.
   
   "The Time Travelers Academy"
   
   A secret training academy that teaches time travel. The hero challenges the grandfather paradox to go back in time and save his fiancé from a tragedy but an unknown aspect of the grandfather paradox stipulates: Something in nature will stop the time traveler from changing the past.
   
   I loved the story line about the "eliminators" entities that will stop a time travelers from changing the past. The hit movie called the Langoliers had similar but very different entities. The Langoliers' job is to erase moments in time that have already passed into history very different from the "eliminators" but a very good concept.
   
   You'll love the characters they are very believable. Each character was out to achieve something. I cant tell you how it ends all I can say is you will not be disappointed...I highly recommend this book.
   
   
   



2. I do like time travel stories, but time travel plays a smaller part in the plot than I expected. Also, the author resorts to a few "deus ex machina" and, at times, the action reminds me of early Flash Gordon comics. Yet, the book is not bad and kept me reading till the end, unexpected twist after twist.



3. This book was not at all what I expected. It is not just another "star trek" sci fiction book. Dark, Complex, and Fun, this novel takes you on a journey that not only creates time travel but explains how it is possible. It is fiction, fantasy and physics all rolled into one. I loved it.



4. I enjoyed this book. It took me a little while to get into it. He had to set up the main characters so it was 1/3 into the book before it got really exiting. Now as for the technical stuff I did not totally get how the time machine traveled or how he could jump to Mars. That seemed a bit out there that's why 4 stars instead of 5. But I'd still recommend for someone to read how enjoys Science Fiction.



5. The idea was interesting, and I even liked the twist of how time works, though I didn't fully understand the explanation. Still, I am willing to suspend belief for a good read. However, the book got ridiculous near the end with impossible feats of superpowers that didn't enhance the story at all. There is suspending belief and just abandoning it all together. Not a good read for time travel book lovers.

1 comments about Moscow (Insight City Guides).

1. I'd already traveled to Moscow 10 times or so before I bought this guide. However, it showed me places to go and things to do in a great, logical manner with really nice color pictures to go along with it. The maps were helpful. Included info on Metro stops. A friend of mine who also travels on company business to Moscow bought the same book independently. We both thought it was a really great guide. BUY IT!

5 comments about Georgia, Armenia & Azerbaijan (Lonely Planet Travel Guides).

1. I had been anticipating the new LP guide for Armenia for quite awhile. I must admit
   that when I finally got it I was disappointed. It is better than the last one, but that's not saying much. The information is OK, but not extensive. There are barely any photos, so you don't really get a good feel for any of the places. The maps are so small that you need a magnifying glass to read them. And, the 6 pages dedicated
   to Karabagh just doesn't cut it!



2. I used the guidebook in all 3 countries within one month of its publication, and found it to be accurate for the most part. However, the authors seemed to be under orders to write glowing reports on anything considered mildly worthwhile to visit. Many of these places were not particularly noteworthy, and after awhile we took each raving description with a grain of salt. For some of the most spectacular sites (Davit Gareja and Kazbegi, both in Georgia) the book really should have included maps. The descriptions of both struck me as being second or third hand, as if the authors themselves had not taken any of the trails they described.



3. The Caucasian countries probably constitute the last bastion of the enigmatic destinations in the world and are shrouded in rumors & unclear doubts. The time trusted Lonely Planet is your only hope and probably the only guide that'll help you plan and execute your trip. I recently came back from a short trip to Georgia and found the information remarkably accurate and undoubtedly useful. It'll serve as your lifeline whilst in the Caucasus.
   I've seen some dismal review comments and whilst I respect other people's opinions, I cannot help wonder what (else) were travelers expecting? A street-by-street guide with illustrated pictures will take away all the enigmatic charm and adventure that the Caucasian countries have to offer. A trip that is planned to perfection is usually not much fun. However, the hospitality of the wonderful people and the overwhelming beauty of the country will supersede your dependence on the guide.



4. I only used this book for Georgia, but it got so much wrong---including maps!--that it was almost useless.
   
   It was good, however, for a general overview of the history and culture, and what's where. It was also used frequently to try to find the right 'mashtruka' when traveling, since routes are written in Georgian, and I could show the Georgian name to drivers to see if I was in the right van going to the right place.
   
   Let's hope that this book is either updated soon, or a competitor decides to publish a guide to this intriguing part of the planet.



5. Writing a guide book for these countries is not an easy job. In this book, information is good and extensive, but don't rely on it as your bible. Maps are not up-to-date, and this might be its biggest weakness; however, you might not find other maps anywhere in the Caucasus which are better, so get this book and use it on the way. You might want to notice that this book is ILLEGAL in Azerbaijan because of pro-Armenia information about Karabakh. At least when crossing by land, the custom control at the border will ask you which books you are bringing in. This is how I lost my book before I even got to use it in the country. But then again, don't blame Lonely Planet, blame the dictatorship.

5 comments about The Rough Guide to Moscow 4 (Rough Guide Travel Guides).

1. Rough Guide's book on Moscow is by far one of the best tour books I have seen for that city. Recently we had the chance to live in Moscow for two months. This book, along with the Rough Guides Russian phrase book, were our constant companions. The Moscow book was essential for giving us really indepth information about most of the sites we went to see. Also, the history section was invaluable to us as we found it necessary to do a little homeschooling of our children while there. I still refer to the history section of the Moscow book to refresh my memory on the complicated story of Russian history.

   We also had Fodor's along with us but found that we relied much more on Rough Guides as a source of important and reliable information. Rough Guides is a must if you visit Moscow.




2. 
   Unfortunately, despite the slow rise of tourists coming to Moscow, there is still no good guidebook. Taking that into consideration, I chose this over the Lonely Planet because it has more day trip information and more background.
   
   This book is truly chock full of information. However, it is arranged in a way that is terribly useless. Neighborhoods are listed, followed by page after page of historical detail and buildings to notice -- guaranteed to get you lost if you actually try to read as you go. My method settled into choosing a neighborhood, reading the book, going there, getting lost, coming home, then reading the book again to try to discern where I'd been.
   
   A bizarre cross section of details pepper the book: things like information on $100/month gyms for New Russians, but no useful notes on where average people can go work out. This sort of thing doesn't matter much to the tourist, but can be frustrating as someone living in Moscow.
   
   I still think this is one of the better guides out there. It does have remarkable historical coverage in a small amount of space, as well as practical details that should satisfy any shoestring or economising traveller. One can hope that further issues of the Guide are able to arrange information more helpfully.



3. I used the latest edition of this guidebook on my recent trip to Moscow (after having a great experience with the St. Petersburg version) and was shocked at how out of date the book was. Most of the restaurants that we tried from the book were closed or not at all what was described, and the prices (both for food and admission to various places) were wildly divergent from those listed in the book. While I understand that there is a lot of turnover and change among these things in Russia, this was simply unacceptable from a new edition that was released a month before my trip. Other guides that we had that were older were more accurate, so it's obvious that the authors did not really try to update this new edition before releasing it.
   
   A second criticism: this book is extremely hard to use for actually navigating the city. The book is organized by the different districts within Moscow, with maps of each area only at the beginning of each section. This means that a great deal of time is wasted trying to find the correct map to look at. It would be much easier if all of the maps were at the back of the book. More importantly, the metro map in the book is absolutely useless. In Moscow, where 2 or more metro lines meet, each line will come into a different station with its own name that will then be connected by walkways to the other station. The map in this book does not make clear which station is on which line, which can make travel a lot more confusing than it needs to be. For a more useful metro map, check out the Eyewitness travel guide, which one of my travel companions used and found to be much better.
   
   The postives: While I would not recommend that anyone use this book as their sole guide for the reasons listed above, the descriptions of the sites to see around Moscow were extremely informative. The recommendations for tour companies, including who has exclusive access to certain areas, were correct. I would rely whole-heartedly on the book's listings of what bus numbers to take to get around, as they were always accurate. Also, we did find 3 restaurants in the book that were still around, had good food, and reasonably priced: Dioskuriya (Georgian food: Nikitskiy bul. 5, str. 1 near the Arbatskaya metro, through the post office arch); Genatsvale (Georgian food: Ostozhenka ul. 12/1, near the Kropotkinskaya metro); and Karetniy Dvor (Azerbajani food: Povarskaya ul. 52, near the Barrikadnaya metro).



4. As a las vegas lawyer, i traveled to moscow many times, and I purchased this book. This book is so out of date, it is not worth the room in your luggage.



5. This book gives ou a nice overview of the region, and incredible specific tips for visiting Moscow.

3 comments about Caucasus: A Journey to the Land between Christianity and Islam.

1. I've always felt much safer following novelists into non-fiction than say biographers, or historians into the realms of fiction. Griffin, who has written a couple of historical novels, is on familiar, though foreign ground. His fictional stories seem to examine cruelty and hope and his first work of non-fiction is no exception. It's a mixture of many genres, all neatly rolled into a short, decisive book. The Caucasus is one of those places, much like the Balkans, which used to confuse me to the point where I'd rather turn the page. But Griffin keeps everything simple and clear, following myths, history and politics along the lines of an expanding Christian nation (Russia) and a defensive Islamic nation (what came to be called Chechnya, Dagestan and Azerbaijan). This book is obviously more topical than the author thought when starting it four years ago. My only complaint is in the inclusion of the author's own travels. At first, it didn't feel as if they merited belonging, but once you catch the writer's drift, that everything is really very close to how it was two hundred years ago, his aims become more and more apparent. Caucasus is blessedly easy to read, and that's no mean feat.



2. Historical facts blend with a travelogue narrative recounting Nicholas Griffin's personal journey through the region in his vividly written Caucasus, an informed and informative examination of the clash of cultures and ancient to modern conflicts inherent in this strife torn area. From headlines about the Chechen insurgency, to the terrain and everyday life of the Caucasus peoples, Nicholas Griffin's Caucasus is not to be missed.



3. Nick Griffin had taken a trip to the Caucasus to make a film about this region and turned it into an historical treatise. He does a great job of intertwining recent history with the history of the areas he is travelling through. More importantly he spends a lot of time trying to educate the reader into the culture, society and thought processes of the people who live there.
   
   What we see in the overall picture is that the Russians who have tried to control this area since the middle of the 19th century have never learned to deal with these people with anything but force which has never worked. Though the Russians controlled the area they never controlled the people. The Chechens have turned out to be the most resourceful, and have been fighting off and on against their occupiers for over 150 years.
   
   For anyone who wants to get a overall view as to what is the cause of troubles in this region, this book is invaluable. I look forward to reading his follow book.

No comments about St. Petersburg.

3 comments about Russia, Belarus & Ukraine (Insight Guides).

1. Insight Guide Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine covers a goegraphically vast expanse of the three countries. It offers a comprehensive history of the regions, and an overview guide to slavic and eurasian culture; including music, art, theater, literature, and food. The large section dedicated to cities and towns of the three countries is excellent for a tourist who wants a brief overview of the architectural and cultural highlights of each location. The street, country, and metro maps are excellent. The small list of lodging and restaurants in each city is adequate, but not spectacular, and most listings are on the pricey side. This book did have one deficiency; while it listed the locations of each city and landmark on maps, the writers did provided limited insight as to how to reach these locations from a central point such as the larger cities in each region. There is no mention of specific bus or train routes connecting the cities, and little information about reaching outlying monasteries and resorts, other than a goegraphical direction. I recommend this book as an aid to a tourist on a an organized trip of Russia. It is also an excellent source for the independent traveller who speaks Russian well enough to arrange their own travel between cities by inquiring at train stations or tourist centers. Other useful tools are the language guide, tips on local customs, and the communication information pages, which offer telephone, mail, internet, and wiring information.



2. As usual for the Insight series, this book provides a great deal of practical information on the history, cultures, life, and tourism, especially for the visitor to the great cities of the Russian Federation, along many spectacular photographs. However, I thought the chapter on Lake Baikal was disproportionately long at the expense of other parts of rural Russia. Perhaps the book's greatest deficiency is the skimpy treatment of Ukraine (and Belarus, for that matter), which should now appear in their own full guides. Less than 60 pages of photos and text just doesn't cut it for these two countries combined. A charming photograph of a bunch of Ukrainian schoolkids posing for the camera more or less seems to ask the reader, "What about us?" Simply put, they should have an Insight Guide book of their own next time around.



3. This book gives ou a nice overview of the region, and incredible specific tips for visiting Russia.

2 comments about The Road Gets Better From Here.

1. For anyone who enjoys one or more of off-the-beaten-track travel, motorcycle riding or following a crazy Australian around, this is a must read book. Adrian is a witty and compelling story teller whose descriptions of the remote places he visited and the characters he met very real and intensely readable.



2. For a first book, Adrian Scotts travelogue is remarkably well written. It takes the reader along with him as he travels from the furthest reaches of Siberia to Europe, Via China and Central Asia. In the wake of rapidly growing global interest in independant travel by motorcycle, Adrian sets off for his first long distance interenational bike adventure with just a few vague ideas about how it may go. On the way he discoveres the real people and real hospitality of people living along his path.
   
   Its a fun read for anyone with an interest in independant travel, an excellent read for anyone with an interest in the the former USSR, and a compulsory read for anyonne contemplating a first major motorcycle adventure.

5 comments about Behind the Urals: An American Worker in Russia's City of Steel.

1. John Scott gives us the reader an interesting point of view of Stalin's Soviet Union. His epic journey is not one to bew taken lkightly. He was in an era when disillusionment was high -- the Great Depression and he believed in the fream of work, even in the figid vastlands of the Urals. Scott gives a good account of what wlife was like, but the book goes by either very quickly or very slowly and does not capture a medium of speed that is accpetable to some readers. However, it is a brittlant account of first hand experence if you are looking for suh an account, Scott is your man.



2. This is a great first hand accont of Stalinism at work. John Scott five year experience in Russia gives us a fairly good overview of some of the accomplishments (such as increase production of pig iron three fold in a decade) and also the problems usually involving poor planning or lack of materials. Scott as an American working in Russia gives us an unusual perspective that is quite refreshing. His writing is easy to read and includes many entertaining and revealing anecdotes. Also his writing is not bogged down by the didactic language and relentless facts that plague most works of history. True there is a history of Magnitogorsk that drags a bit but it is over soon enough. Generally, this is considered the definative work on everyday Stalinism



3. This book is a first-person account of work life in the Soviet Union in the 1930s. Disenchanted with opportunities in Depression America in 1931, Scott takes off for the Workers' Paradise. He finds a job as a welder building the massive steelworks in the new Soviet city of Magnitogorsk in the Ural Mountains. Altogether, he spent six years living and working in Magnitogorsk until he lost his job due to Stalin's purges.

   The conditions that Scott found himself working in are simply incredible. He rose well before dawn and went to work outdoors in -30 degree temperatures with no breakfast. Lunch, the major meal of the day, was a hunk of bread and some watery soup with perhaps a slice of tough meat. Work place injuries were extremely common, due to the cold, lack of food and lack of training or safety equipment. For example, Scott describes an incident where he was working high above the ground and saw something, or rather, somebody, go sailing past only to the pipes below. As a foreigner, Scott knew some first aid, so he was always called on to care for such injuries when they occurred at the work site. In addition to describing work life and living conditions, Scott also discusses the educational and training systems that were in place and spare time activities such as vacations. He also includes some anecdotes about ex-pat workers who he met in Magnitogorsk.

   Scott remains objective throughout the book, making the message of the book extremely powerful, much more so than if he had pressed political arguments or personal viewpoints. A particularly interesting facet of the book is its discussion of the purges of the 1930s and speculation on their cause. Few other outsiders were living inside Soviet society at the time, so Scott's views can be uniquely enlightening about how Soviets perceived what was happening to their society and why. Scott identifies several possible causes for the purges, but seems to place great emphasis on the fear of foreign saboteurs and does not mention Stalin's personality at all as a possible cause. Area specialists and historians will find much of interest in this book, as will casual readers.




4. Other reviewers have done a good job pointing out the positives of this book; it's a unique look at a moment in history in a region most westerners have never heard of. One issue that needs to be made clear, however, is that this book is under no circumstance to be considered unbiased. In reference to Stalin's purges, John Scott makes such statements in as "Often they tried the wrong people, but in Russia this is relatively unimportant" and "Most of these people were innocent, but some were guilty, and some might have become excellent Nazi fifth-columnists. Stalin considered this investment a good one" without a hint of remorse. He plays the apologist, by constantly citing figures like pig iron production or cement tonnage, which are somehow supposed to negate the Stalinist terrors. Yes, the author is a victim of that same blind denial that kept Jews in concentration camps and the Gulag full of innocent Soviets. After reading Eugenia Semyonovna Ginzburg's "Journey Into the Whirlwind", her account of her life in Stalin's prison system, I almost felt physically ill when I reexamined "Behind the Urals". I can not blame Scott for what so many other Soviets fell victim to, the Cult of Stalin, but you have to go into this book with the mindset you would an uncritical book about the wonders of arms production in Nazi Germany. "Behind the Urals" is full of history, but it needs a liberal dose of critical interpretation, and an understandings that his political views should best be taken as an historical curiosity.



5. A very good account of life in 1930s Russia under the Bolshevik regime led by Lenin and then Stalin. Stalin's policies of collectivism of agriculture and rapid industrialization is very apparent throughout the book. What stands out is the dim view held by many Russian citizens of the capitalistic society of western nations including the United States which is clearly exploited by Stalin to pursue his objectives of social engineering and absolute power. You even find yourself buying into Stalin's propoganda as seems to be the case with the author, John Scott. But Stalin's brutal tactics must not be overlooked. He does create impressive cities and a very strong army, but at a great cost to the Russian people.