1 comments about Streetwise Miami Map - Laminated City Street Map of Miami, Florida -with integrated metrorail and metromover lines and stations.

1. I have used Streetwise Maps alll over the world -- literally -- and they have NEVER disappointed me. Super, super accurate. Whether I plan to drive or to be on foot, I would not visit any new city (including Miami) without my Streetwise Map.

No comments about Best Designed Wellness Hotels: North And South America, Carribean, Mexico / Nord - Und sudamerika, Karibik, Mexiko (Best Designed).

4 comments about Kentucky Atlas & Gazetteer.

1. I love these DeLorme "Atlas and Gazetteer" maps. We have one for Texas and found it very useful. We hope the Kentucky one will be just as informative. Includes all the little known roads not shown on standard highway maps...a true asset.



2. Have done alot of biking in Western Kentucky and this atlas is a lifesaver when it comes to looking for riding routes. Also very useful when looking for addresses in the country.



3. Looking for an adventure? Then look no further that the Kentucky Atlas and Gazetteer. These easy to use maps provide excellent political and some geographical detail of the roadways and byways in the state. Get off the interstate and explore!



4. Delorme Gazetteers open up another world for people who like to just "cruise around" and not get lost.

4 comments about Personal Narrative of a Journey to the Equinoctial Regions of the New Continent: Abridged Edition (Penguin Classics).

1. I have to admit that just as I was starting to savour this thin slip of a book I found that it was, indeed, mere selections. The whole narrative is actually three volumes, over four hundred pages a volume. I was left with a craven empty feeling like a fiend for his needle. Humboldt's writing presages Thoreau and through him ponders the transcendent raptures of the natural world. Reading through the visit to the Caribs reminded me of my visits to the Grenadines where their presence is still redolent in the shadows under the almond trees. I felt that I had imbibed the same air as Humboldt.



2. Alexander von Humboldt (of the Current fame) was a famous polymath during the age of enlightenment. Like many noblemen, he used his money and leisure time in esoteric pursuits, such as collecting flora & fauna and trying to find the deeper meaning of it all.

   This particular volume has been well-translated from the original - there is none of that stilted 'I haf von the Cherman translated been' style - it reads conversationally (assisted by the editing-out of long passages where Humboldt takes one of his many diversions) yet it also gives us an idea of what the man was really like. There is an extensive set of notes at the back, not just references, but elaboration of the point, which I found very illuminating.

   His travels to South America span 5 years, during which time he collects and measures EVERYTHING - for at this time in history, no-one knew what was going to be pertinent or useful to science or economy. There are some amazing descriptions where he was the first educated person to see places; the problems of travel in uncharted, trackless & mountainous country make terrific reading. We may scoff at the zeal of the man, but if Hiram Bingham hadn't done the same, we wouldn't have the fantastic ruins of Macchu Picchu to study.

   We also learn of the relatively tight circle of 'scientists' at that time - almost everyone knew everyone else, either via letters, Society writings or personal contact - and they knew it all; there was as yet no division between geology, biology, zoology etc - it was just 'Natural Philosophy' and one studied the lot (of course some dedicated themselves to a favourite pursuit). What is amazing to us now is the most simple things were unknown; for example, a sailor at death's door deep in the bowels of the ship, 'miraculously' recovers when taken on deck, out of the fetid miasma of the orlop - well, who wouldn't?... There are many similar incidents.

   Slightly heavy going at times, because of the writing style of the period, it is nevertheless chock full of interesting snippets and amazing discoveries, giving a great insight into the mind and motives of a typical adventurous philosopher of the time. *****




3. Much as I'm glad to have at least some of von Humboldt's very important travel writings availible, this edition is sadly emasculated.
   
   While it does include the initial Amazonian phase of Humboldt's South American expedition, the narrative is cut short at mid-point, von Humboldt's stay in Cuba. It's inconceivable to me that the editor would have omitted all of the author's writing on his exploration of the Andes, and in particular the volcanoes of South America.
   
   Those excluded descriptions are not only fascinating to read today, but were also what most inspired readers in von Humboldt's own day. As a matter of fact, von Humboldt's account of the Andes so inspired the 19th-century imagination, that the era's greatest landscape painters, such as Frederic Church, actually travelled to South American specifically to witness and depict the vistas which von Humboldt had recorded in print. The integral von Humboldt, in contrast with the one presented here, wanted not simply to view and record exotic cultures and climates, but far beyond this to attempt as much as possible to experience the totality of the Cosmos in microcosmic form. The closest von Humboldt came to this impossible experience was his rapid ascent of the large volcanoes of South America, insofar as in this manner he could pass, virtually, through all the Earth's various climates in a single day--an astounding and Romantic feat completely unavailable to anyone using this edition as an introduction to von Humboldt.
   
   But none of the above can be glimpsed even remotely by the reader equipt with only the Penguin edition. Because of the premature truncation of the text, one entirely loses sight of von Humboldt's overarching project, which was not merely a geographical descripton of the Earth's surface, but rather a geodetical construction of the World as an organic Unity. Thus abbreviated, von Humboldt appears scarcely different from his Enlightenment precursors; we lose all view of him as writer who has passed through defiles of Romanticism. Not the real von Humboldt at all.
   
   Rather than making one rash cut down the middle, the editor would have served the reader much better by extracting key episodes from von Humboldt's entire journey. As I said above, something is generally better than nothing at all. But in this particular case, not much better.



4. I bught the book, and was expecting it eagerly.
   Once it arrived I realized I had make a mistake by not realizing it was just an exceprto from the real deal.
   
   Only a small part of the trip is described and nothing in the parts I was interested is even mentioned.
   I hope the other parts will come at any time soon.

No comments about Blues for New Orleans: Mardi Gras And America's Creole Soul (The City in the Twenty-First Century).

1 comments about Roads of Texas - 5th Edition.

1. :-/ The main roads are correctly depicted...BUT, this 5th Edition is NOT current! Many public roads, and roads in the gated communities of my new neighborhood (76049 Zip) are simply not depicted in this MAPSCO volume!
   
   The streets in my old Silver Creek Addition in San Antonio (78250 Zip)WERE CONSTRUCTED IN 1979/80, BUT NOT COMPLETELY DEPICTED IN THIS 2005/2008 EDITION! :-/
   
   Aside from that, it is still full of large maps with easy to see and interpret symbols. But the down side is this lack of currency limits usefulness for us.
   
   Bad Note: Some of the mileages depicted between points in my 76049 neighboorhood are way off.

No comments about Paradise and Plantation: Tourism and Culture in the Anglophone Caribbean (New World Studies).

2 comments about A Sacred Landscape: The Search for Ancient Peru.

1. Hugh Thomson's "A Sacred Landscape: The Search for Ancient Peru" is enjoyable reading from end to end of its 286 pages, which include nice maps and lots of photos. He has written in the first person, which adds to the pleasure of the read.
   
   The book is loaded with first-hand accounts of archaeological sites, along with personalized interviews and discussions with Andeanists, both scientific and adventurer types.
   
   We learned a lot about the recent re-discovery of Llactapata, the extraordinary archaeological site that lies 2.5 miles southwest of Machu Picchu proper. Thomson describes his work and the work of his colleagues at Llactapata in evocative detail; it makes you feel as if you were there swinging a machete. In particular, you get a good feel for explorer Gary Ziegler and Archaeo-astronomer Kim Malville, both of whom are from Colorado. Thomson also does a good job at describing earlier visits to Llactapata by Hiram Bingham, Johan Reinhard, and himself from over the last 100 years, and how these hurried visits had done little to really define the site.
   
   One reason why the book would be of special interest to archaeologists is that Thomson describes encounters with well-known Andean personalities and then goes on to give verbal sketches of their personalities and their strengths and weaknesses without pulling punches. You will find stories about Gordon McEwan, Jonathan Haas, Ruth Shady, Tom Zuidema, Gary Ziegler, Gary Urton, John Hemming, Richard Burger, Johan Reinhard, and many more. It is fun reading.
   
   One treat was Thomson's 10-page report on meeting with Gordon McEwan at Chokepukio that is just down valley a short distance from Cusco. The site is nicely described, but Thomson states it was a Wari site when it was actually pre-Wari, Wari, post-Wari, and then an Inca site. This problem, however, does not detract from his report.
   
   "A Sacred Landscape..." joins Thomson's earlier book, ":The White Rock", in setting a standard on how to write about Andean archaeology in a manner that sells books and provides a glimpse of ancient Peru for the armchair traveler, serious tourist, and for those with a scientific bent.



2. Hugh Thomson has continued his well researched and well written adventure into understanding ancient Peru which he began in his earlier work, the "The White Rock". The previous reviewer gives some specific examples of Mr. Thomson's research, so I will focus on why this book is rated 5 stars.
   
   Hugh Thomson has written a very high quality narrative and has woven archeological and historical research into his own search for understanding the Incas. I recommend this book for anyone who wants to better understand the history of the America's, the spiritual develop of ancient peoples and the tragedy of the Spanish Conquest. It is also excellent for anyone who wonders what it is like to journey in the Andes.

5 comments about The Doors of San Miguel De Allende.

1. If you are looking for information about San Miguel, this book does NOT provide it! Very little written...too many door photos!



2. If you are looking for rustic colonial or American Southwest doors then this book is a must buy. - jim



3. This book was purchased as a gift for me. I am a subscriber to International Living, and San Miguel is a long-time favorite of theirs.
   
   I mentioned this, and the way the city had piqued my interest, to a family member. She then promptly went online and ordered this book for me.
   
   It is for this reason that I issue the following warning: the title should be taken LITERALLY, not figuratively.
   
   It could be read either way, but this book is NOT about opening the metaphorical doors to life in San Miguel. You will not look in these pages and then find the metaphorical doors to San Miguel thrown open to your understanding and appreciation. You will not learn about expat or local life in this historical city. And you will not find yourself frequently referring back here as you plan your trip or your move.
   
   What you WILL find, seriously, is heaps about the actual physical doorways on buildings in San Miguel.
   
   If you WANT the world's premiere photo-essay collection about the doorways in San Miguel, then this is a five-star tome all the way. Look all you want, you won't find better. If you want info about the city and culture of this red-hot expat community, look elsewhere.



4. but if not, you'll be bored senseless.



5. There is no doubt that this book contains fine photography of a very interesting subject. I just wish, however, I paid more attention to the product description: Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 6.3 x 0.5 inches. This is not a coffee table book, and each photograph is 4.25 x 6.5 inches. So don't expect a book of the dimension that usually does justice to these types of photos. Let's just say that I wish I had a much larger format with which to enjoy the author's work.
   
   That said and out of the way, the author/photographer hits the mark exactly with a very intriguing facet of Old Mexico and the charming colonial city of San Miguel de Allende. Cities like this have an ancient patina to them, something that only history and time can impart. Like most art, you either get it or you don't, and this author gets it.
   
   The book isn't a metaphor to life inside the city, it is exactly what the title states - a collection of beautifully photographed handcrafted doors. But there is more; even if you have not made the journey to Old Mexico, you begin to know it by the faces of these doors. Much like human faces, there is embedded in each a perspective of a life lived and served, and serving, such that the reader/observer begins to wonder about the depths of the soul of each residence.
   
   I have been to San Miguel de Allende on one of several motorcyle journeys through Mexico. It is a land of enchantment, wonderful history, lively tradtions, excellent food, and most of all, a rich culture and some of the most vibrant, friendly people in all the world. They literally open their hearts - and doors - to all who travel and visit with humility and respect.
   
   This book deserves a larger footprint to display the author's work. But since it does not, I hope it serves as a teaser to those who have never been to San Miguel, or Guanajuato, or Zacatecas and the like - to go and see, and open, doors both literally and figuratively to a world so close yet so far away. Viva Old Mexico!

2 comments about Homegrown/Handmade: Art Roads and Farm Trails.

1. I'm a group tour director in eastern North Carolina, so I was excited when I learned of this book. What a let-down! There's absolutely nothing new here. The title seems to promise something unique, something "Homegrown [and/or] Handmade." While perhaps 10% of the places listed here actually do sell homegrown or handmade items, the rest are the common, everybody-stops-here, places included in every guide to this region. Paid for with tobacco settlement money, this purports to be an effort to inject something new into the economy of the former tobacco lands. (This means that western North Carolina isn't even mentioned!) If there are five tobacco-farming families represented here, I'd be surprised. This book seems like it is either paid advertising for a mixed bag of local establishments or was put together by people who never left their laptops. Tax payer's money has already been wasted on this -- don't waste yours!



2. The Eastern and Piedmont regions of North Carolina have much to offer travelers. "Homegrown Handmade: Art Roads and Farm Trails" is a travel guide focusing on these areas of North Carolina, listing countless art galleries, performances, agricultural fairs, festivals, and other attractions which will bring visitors much entertainment and interest. A must for anyone planning on visiting North Carolina, "Homegrown Handmade" is highly recommended for community library travel collections.