3 comments about Northern Spain: The Collected Traveler (An Inspired Anthology and Travel Resource).

1. As in my (rave) review for Ms. Kerper's PARIS book, I cannot say too much how much I love this series, and this title, in particular, is spectacular, in that it makes a region that is off-the-beaten-path so entirely enticing. I am planning an upcoming trip to Northern Spain, and unlike other the other (standard) travel guides for this area that I've seen, this book has TRULY helped shape how I wish to spend my time, all the while introducing me to a culture and history I am unfamiliar with (e.g. the long history of pilgrimage in Santiago di Compostela, and the endless seafood offerings of La Coruna and culinary indulgences to be found in San Sebastian). This is not the Spain of arid plains and bullfight arenas. Its a whole new world...to me!

   I feel this book is the PERFECT starting point for travellers, ESPECIALLY those who enjoy planning, for it leads one in so many interesting directions. The different voices of the varied collected authors (along with Ms. Kerper's insights) offer a much richer perspective than most typical travel books, by virtue of the diversity (and careful choosing). The excellent bibliography will have you running to the library or bookstore to explore more, all in a much more focussed way.

   Thia book is truly a resource (as titled) and a guide and companion in the fullests sense of these words. You are the beneficiary of insider knowledge from an avid traveller, and it all seems so personalized.

   Without hesitation I say BUY THIS BOOK, and while you're at it check out the others in this series...honestly PARIS was indispensible to my last trip, and I can't wait to get my hands on VENICE!




2. I loved this book!!! Having travelled to Spain several times and being interested in learning as much as I about this wonderful country, I found this book to be an extremely valuable resource. I loved the format, it was easy to pick up and put down with the short story format. I found the nature of the stories to be so personal that I felt I was actually travelling with the authors. A highly recommended travel guide!



3. This isn't a travel guide, per se, but an excellent descriptive collection of the regions, landscape, and culture of Northern Spain. While it does include some good practical info and some (limited) lodging and restaurant recommendations, what it does best is paint a picture of the region that isn't overly promotional. Just tells it like it is....you feel like you get a good idea of what it would like to be there. And the picture it paints will make you want to travel to Northern Spain -- it worked for us!

No comments about Travel Galicia, Spain - Guide, Maps, and Phrasebook. Includes: A Coruna, Santiago de Compostela, Vigo and more.

2 comments about Ultreia! Onward!: Progress of the Pilgrim.

1. Reading this book, whose subject is about recovering a sense of simplicity about what is really necessary for our journeys and what is excess, is itself a pilgrimage. Reading it as a tourist will not do. There is so much to learn from the well-chosen and well-spaced reflections by pilgrims offered in these pages. Much wisdom emerges from the deep and simple observations of the wanderers contained herein. A book such as this leads us to deep places as does every pilgrimage. Spirit emerges on every page...



2. As a veteran on the Camino for many years, This is the book we read from, between our prayers.
   
   The book helped focus our spiritual mission and also to uplift us. There are few books on this subject that I could recommend but this is certainly one that comes on top of my list
   
   'At the heart of each of us, whatever our imperfections, there exists a silent pulse of perfect rhythm, a complex of wave forms and resonances, which is absolutely individual and unique.
   
   This book helped us to resonance with the holy places we visited on the road to Santiago

5 comments about The Voyage of the Armada: The Spanish Story.

1. The story of the Spanish Armada, as told by David Howarth, is built from his research of original Spanish archives. Apparently, he may have been the first to do so. Other historians had relied on English sources. That principal fact makes the story more compelling than other histories of the event.

   Secondarily, Howarth reports on innovations and errors. For example, the Spanish invented the "convoy" and convoy tactics. This prompted the English to invent the "wolfpack." Maritime historains will be interested in the accidental development of these strategies.

   Business management students will get to study the consequences of central planning and micromanagement by the Spanish King. Howarth does a good job contrasting the Spanish model with the decentralized style of the English.

   A good read on several levels.




2. This wonderfully descriptive book by the English author, David Howarth, is well worth reading if you have a desire to learn about the Spanish Armada and the "Enterprise against England". Although this book, `The Voyage of the Armada' (1981) is not as detailed as `The Armada' (1959) by Garrett Mattingly, its still a great story and well worth the time to read.

   By all accounts this story of the enterprise is told as it was seen through the eyes and experiences of the Spanish soldiers and sailors and is very well done in that regard. Using first hand accounts found in numerous Spanish letters and reports, many previously not utilised before, the story comes alive and gives you a real feeling and understanding of the participants, many who did not survive to tell their tale.

   One aspect of the book that I found pleasing was that the author took the story past the battle with the English fleet. David Howarth provides the reader with an account of what happened to the ships and men who actually survived the "dash" up the Channel. Those who were shipwrecked along the Irish coast were subjected to even more terror than they had experienced so far and very few survived.

   The real hero of this story is Medina Sidonia, the commander of the Spanish ships, and I found myself wondering could anyone have done any better under similar circumstances? This is a great story with an exciting narrative and although it only runs to 250 pages (hardback edition) I found I came away with a better understanding of what happened and why. This book would be a great companion volume to `The Armada' by Garrett Mattingly but can stand alone as a decent and well presented account of the "Armada".




3. Howarth is a great story teller for historians. In this book, he shows the Spanish side led by the Duke of Medina Sidonia. The Duke was a very courageous though inexperienced sailor. His commanders were also very able. The problem was the campaign as formated by Philip II. Philip micro managed but at the same time did not present what the ultimate objective was to be. Would he name himself King of England? One has to fill in the blanks, and Howarth does a good job of giving details of what Philip intended to do.
   Unlike others, Howarth details why the Spaniards were the underdog in this campaign. The English ships were sleek and maneuverable, whereas the Spaniards were clumsy. The numbers were not as great as one supposed. All told, the Spanish were the underdogs since they were operating far from base. The result were running battles, with the English besting the Spaniards. On the trip around the isles, poor weather, lack of provisions, and unseaworthy vessels killed more than the battle itself. Howarth does a great job in describing this agony of sailors and soldiers seeking home, but ultimately killed in Ireland.
   The only wish for this book is that Howarth could have expanded his study. This is an interesting subject, but the book was short.



4. Howarth, an English historian, takes a look at the Spanish Armada debacle from the Spanish point of view, using letters and documents culled from the Spanish national archives. He awards first prize for the disaster to King Philip, a first-rate numbskull whose foolhardy strategy and tactics doomed the fleet before it ever left port. Thanks to him, Spain has been a second-class power ever since. Duke Medina Sedonia, fleet commander, gets far more sympathetic treatment than his boss: despite having not a shred of military or nautical experience, he displays heroic courage and equanimity in the face of near hopeless odds. Besides these two, Horwath delves deep into the personalities of many other key participants on both sides, including Drake, Frobisher, the de Valdes cousins, Recalde, and the energetically inactive Duke of Parma. The narrative is compact yet sweeping: in a mere 250 pages, Horwath gives good account of the religious and political motives behind the mission, the military strengths and weaknesses of both sides, tactical and strategic developments in sixteenth century naval warfare, and the misery endured by the sailors and soldiers of the Armada. He describe of the various fates of the doomed Spaniards with heart-wrenching passion, but includes some rousing tales of survival and escape that truly lift the spirit. Well done!



5. I picked up this book almost at random to write a book review for my Tudor-Stuart English class. The book is written in a narrative format that really helps you follow the story - for an avid fantasy book reader, it came across almost as a real book and not just a dry history text. The book has a real narrative feel that gives it a lot of strength. Recommended if you are interested in the Armada, or historical naval battles.

1 comments about Fodor's See It Spain, 1st Edition (Fodor's See It).

1. This would be a book to use if you knew you wanted to go to Spain but not sure which part of Spain. The photographs are good, although mostly small, but lots of them, the layout is glossy, and there is a decent attempt to cover each geographic area but if you know what part of Spain you are interested in, you would be much better off getting a book for that area. The layout is a bit confusing, each section of the country is covered several different times in different sections of the book, the maps in the back are for the most part useless; one of Barcelona, one of Madrid, and the rest of the maps are general geographic layout of the country. Only a resource if you are trying to decide which part of Spain, and not a great one although pretty.

3 comments about Fodor's See It Barcelona, 2nd Edition (Fodor's See It).

1. I traveled throughout Spain and France over the fall and took the Barcelona, Spain and Paris guides with me everywhere I went. None of them are too big to carry in a purse or a backpack. The history is so well-written and informative, but it's not overwhelming like other travel guides can be. There are tons of pictures and I loved that they give "city walks" for you to do. Perfect little three mile walks around the city that loop you past tons of landmarks and interesting shops and restaurants. As a student, I was on a bit of a budget and it was super helpful to have the exact prices AND hours listed with each activity.
   
   I bought the See It: Italy guide for a couple friends and they loved it. This series is seriously the best.



2. "Who's going to go to a restaurant that's 5km away from them?"
   
   A typical exclamation from a user of this guide. Unfortunately, bars, restaurants and other places are organized alphabetically, rather than by area, so if you're doing a search for a restaurant near where you are, good luck. This guide does not make such a typical query easy. Thumbs down.



3. I bought this guide to Barcelona because the Fodor's Guide to France was so wonderful. Unfortunately, Fodor's got it wrong with this particular format of city guide. The guide is organized by activity (one section for "shopping" one for "hotels" one for "things to see" one for restaurants, etc.) and the corresponding maps are not intuitively placed throughout the book, either. This translates into a lot of furious page-flipping as you try to discern which sites, restaurants, etc., are where. Luckily Barcelona is so jam-packed with fabulous things to see, we eventually stopped using the guide in favor of just wandering and seeing whatever we happened to cross paths with. Two things I did like about this book, however, were that each of the major sites has its own mini-chapter, and that the book provides helpful walking tours of a couple of the major tourist areas. But unless you're willing to put in a significant amount of time learning how to use this book before you hit the pavement, and memorizing which map corresponds to which page, I suggest using a different guide.

2 comments about Knopf City Guide: Lisbon (Knopf City Guides Lisbon).

1. Don't confuse the Knopf city guide with the Knopf Guide. The Knopf Guides are quite good. The city guide, of which I have mistakenly bought several, is very short, and devotes at least 80% to where to eat, where to stay, where to shop, where to find night life...20% or less useful info of what to visit if your'e a tourist. And the maps are pretty useless too.



2. Sorry, I don't agree with the other review posted for this book. Sure it may not be as complete as a Fodor's or some other "book" size guide. However, it is designed to fit into a jacket pocket or a purse.

   The maps were very useful in that they show where the Metro (subway) stops are located. They are color coded and cross referenced to show the location of the Where to Stay, Where to Eat, What to See, Shopping, etc. Half the battle for us is figuring out how close public transportation can get us to where we want to go. The Metro system is excellent by the way. Check out the unlimited use daily passes that can be purchased once you are in Lisbon.

   With the maps and the hotel recommendations in the guide (and use of the web booking engines like Expedia and Travelocity), we were able to find a reasonably priced hotel that was very convenient to the sights we wanted to see.

   Certainly not the "one" book you want to get to know Lisbon. However it is an excellent, very useful guide to carry with you. Overall a very good value. Even better if you consider purchasing a "used and new" Amazon book.

2 comments about Madrid, 2nd (City Guides - Cadogan).

1. The Cadogan "Guide" book on Madrid seems to lack basic fact checking. The hotel we booked into, The Hotel Intur Palacio San Martin, recommended for its terrific location near the Big Three museum triangle, was in fact, nowhere near the museums and nowhere near its location on the Cadogen map. Continuing on Day one in Madrid, following the Cadogan Guide, we made reservations at a restaurant for my husband's birthday. Went to find the restaurant based on Cadogan map again, lo and behold, no restaurant at that location and no-one had ever heard of it. Eventually, many days later, we did track down the restaurant, again nowhere near its mapped location. Needless to say, we no longer trusted any facts in our Cadogan Guide, I recommend only using this "guide" for atmosphere, but wait, I can figure that stuff out myself! Cadogan guide ended up in wastebasket in hotel.



2. I agree with the prior review, the maps were completely incorrect. This guide is useless in relation to the greatest needs of a traveler - where to find lodging and food.

No comments about Portugal Road Map with Separate Index 1:600,000 (Ravenstein International Maps).

1 comments about Footprint Northern Spain: Handbook (Footprint Northern Spain Handbook).

1. Well, I'm again here recommending a Footprint book. I took two weeks off and travelled from San Sebastian to Vigo, and from there to Portugal (where I used a Michelin for a three day stay). If you have more than a week, Footprint is the way to go (and read the guide BEFORE travel, like always). Is a great thing that they decided to write this sector guides (about only a part of a country) because it allows you to take in some areas without feeling that you paid for something that you will not use. Also, it represents better the way I do tourism. The cheap hotel (pensions) reccommendations where incredibly accurate (and I saved a lot of euros without losing quality). One line even mentioned a dog pertaining to a hostel owner, and since the dog passed away last year the owner wanted to see the guide to remember him and was happy to see that his dog will always be in a printed page! (that was in Oviedo). Continue with the good job people.