No comments about Wildlife Guide: Brazil (Globetrotter Wildlife Guides).

No comments about Latin American Spanish Phrasebook.

2 comments about Insight Fleximap Costa Rica (Insight Fleximaps).

1. This map is laminated and therefore waterproof. Being laminated does not interfere with the usefulness of the map. This map is great for showing sites worth visiting (i.e interesting tourist type places and their location on the map). If you are going to buy one map for Costa Rica this would be the map you would want. I recommend, however, buying two maps: this one and then the Globetrotter Travel Map of Costa Rica. The Globetrotter map is much larger and therefore shows more detail, but it doesn't show where specific tourist sites are located which is why I recommend buying both.



2. This map is of high-quality laminant and would likely survive fire and flood. But, the designers superimposed a "layer" (as in PhotoShop lingo) of terrain symbology underneath, rendering the roads, numbers and names of towns almost illegible, even in adequate light, for this 57 year-old with bifocals.
   
   I can just imagine bouncing down the rutted secondary roads of Costa Rica at dusk, wondering "where in Heavens name am I?"
   
   There are many better maps out there.

No comments about Ralph Gibson: Brasil (Collana).

No comments about Lonely Planet Peru (Lonely Planet. (Spanish Guides)).

2 comments about unseen Colombia.

1. Living in Colombia for a year I found this book to show areas of Colombia I have seen and then some. It is one if not the most beautiful country in the world. Colombia has a bad rep, don't let the American press fool you, look at this book and let it be the start of your search for the real Colombia, one of passions, diversity and paridise. The stories go well with the pictures to paint a picture that can draw one in.



2. Colombia's beauty is exposed at its most: mountains, rivers, deserts, forests... its varied ecosystems -- from the rich tropical rainforest to the coastal cloud forests to the open savannas.

No comments about Peruvian Wildlife: A Visitor's Guide to the High Andes (Bradt Guides).

No comments about As Others See Chicago: Impressions of Visitors, 1673-1933.

No comments about Fodor's Chile, 3rd Edition (Fodor's Gold Guides).

1 comments about Fodor's Argentina, 4th Edition (Fodor's Gold Guides).

1. This year I have used and then reviewed five guides on Argentina. Fodor's has commendable qualities, but its weaknesses outweigh its strengths. This guide will give you excellent direction on what to see/where to go. Its selection and recommendations of accommodations is the best out in guides today. However, if you want a guide to help you select an excellent, unique restaurant, if you want a guide that informs you about the history and culture of Argentina, and if you want a guide that will provide you with maps that help you locate restaurants and hotels, then look elsewhere.
   
   Fodor's excels at helping you to pick the best accommodations.. Their recommendations are accurate and, if there is a "Fodor's Choice" next to the accommodations it is worth checking that hotel out. I was never disappointed using this guide for accommodations.
   
   However, Fodor's restaurants recommendations in the guide are typical and common. Those that I visited were not the unique "finds", nor the excellent "mom and pop" restaurants that other guides occasionally give you. Rather, the restaurants Fodor's selected were populated by tourist and often filled with large groups. That alone would not be a distraction if the food at these restaurants was great, but, the food was good, but not worth touting in a guide.
   
   One of the most disappointing and dysfunctional aspects of this guide is the total omission of information on the history and culture of Argentina. Another was the serious lack of maps.
   
   A guide without maps is like a horse without a saddle, hard to enjoy and after awhile the absence is very noticeable. Good guides will have maps that help you locate both their recommended restaurants and the hotels. Fodor's only has these maps for Buenos Aires. Once you leave Buenos Aires there are NO MAPS to help you in this area.
   
   Caveat: After the economic collapse Argentina became a bargain country to visit. That is changing very fast. Hotels, airfares and restaurants prices are quickly rising. It is difficult to stay in Buenos Aires (unless you are staying at a hostel or backpackers hotel) for less than $100 a day. You, should plan on at least $150 for a moderate priced, well located hotel, good meals (with a good wine of course) and some sightseeing. Before you travel, use the internet to check out current hotel prices.
   
   For a overall reliable guide I recommend: Rough Guide to Argentina(2005). This guide is conditionally recommended 3.5 stars.