5 comments about Rick Steves' Italy 2008 (Rick Steves).

1. The book is of average quality when compared to other Italy travel books. It comes with the standard "Rick Steves Advertising" throughout the book. The issue which brought me to return the book was the omission of Sicily from the book. As far as I know, Sicily is still very much a part of Italy and thus should have been included.



2. I have bought about 10-15 guidebooks for an upcoming Mediterranean Cruise and have read each one. This one is my favorite - Rick tells it like it is, I've learned very interesting facts that weren't in any other guidebook. I also appreciate that he reviews from budget to luxury options, so you can choose based on your day's plans - for example, where to eat. Many guidebooks only review sit down restaurants when you might only want a quick panini if you are going to be touring all day. He also offers walking tours of several of the major sites. He lists things to do if you only have a day in one place, which is great for cruisers. There is also a useful appendix. The paper is very thin, so highlighters will bleed through to the opposite page a little bit. However, this book is very compact for the information that it contains. It's 800-900 pages and only about an inch thick. I will actually take this with me and carry it around on my trip.



3. if you're staying in certain cities, it'd be better to get his Rome, Florence and the Tuscany region and the Venice book.
   
   We used the Italy book, it had nice recommendations on food, hotels and such. They were excellent. Had recommended sights. But the tour guide section found in his Rome book were missing from the Italy book. Because you really can carry around a huge book. If I were to do it again, I would have gotten individual books. But if I were to go to multiple cities, this would definetly be the book to get.
   
   On our trip we went to Rome and Florence.



4. Rick Steve's takes the approach that you will only visit a major European country one time. With that in mind he tries to tailor your visit to focus your attention on only the most important things. I have used his books for 9 years and have found that his tastes do not match mine in most things, but if Rick recommends something as a must see, you ignore it at your peril.
   I always use Rick's books as the skeleton of my trip plans, picking out his top choices, and then I flesh out my trips with other sources that are a better match for my tastes.
   If you are planning repeat visits to a country you will quickly find that his books are worthless. If you stray from his well blazed trail of long published "secrets" you will be on your own. But his approach is a very good one for a first time visit. Just don't expect to be finding any great travel treasures that no one knows about. There are "As seen in Rick Steves" signs all over Europe.



5. Rick Steves did a great job on his ITALY 2008 book. I was going to the Cinque Terre and he has a great breakdown for that area in the book. Also, he made good calls on nearby Pisa and Lucca. Steves said that one need not spend A LOT of time in these cities and he is right. A few hours to see the main sights in Pisa (3 including the leaning tower) are fine and a good 2-hour walk-a-round in Lucca is enough too. Special Note on Lucca: Puccini was born in Lucca and they perform recitals of his works in one of the churches there. This would be worth an overnight to catch a recital if you want to soak in more culture than you can from just street scenes. Suggestion: travel to Pisa early in the day, visit the Field of Miracles, then end up in Lucca in the PM (short train ride between the two) for your overnight. Do your Lucca walk-a-round PLUS attend a Puccini recital. Then you will have done most if not all of what you should do in these two "competing" towns. Steves points out stuff like this. This was the first time I used a Steves book. Normally I use Michelin Green Guides. But now I would use more tour books by Steves. His style is engaging, even if sometimes it might be a bit preachy for those of us who already know how to mind our (American) manners! In my travels in early June 2008 I did not see any Americans out of line, whatsoever. Not along the Cinque Terre and not at either Pisa or Lucca. In fact, I did not note anyone out-of-line, or drinking too much, or similar stuff, in any of my recent travels. I accept such things can happen, but during my recent excursion I did not notice any such disappointing behavior.

5 comments about Maui Revealed: The Ultimate Guidebook (Maui Revealed).

1. Newest edition looks exactly like the older ones with identical pictures and captions. Some relevant new information makes the book worth buying.



2. We just got back from celebrating our 5th anniversay with a week in Maui yesterday and this book was an indespensible resource that never left our side. Each day we were there, we explored a new part of the island or went on a new tour or trip and this book helped us through every part. If you are like us and like to pack every day of your vacation with new and fun things, then you should buy this book right now. But even if you prefer to just relax and visit a few places and restaurants, this book has reviews that will help you choose.
   
   The author is a native, and is cynical and has a *very* dry sense of humor. However, for someone who is making recommendations, this is really a good quality. I personally don't want someone who is willing to give everyone and everything 5 stars. I prefer and appreciate someone who will tell me the negatives of each choice so that I can evaluate those and make a decision instead of just hearing the bubbly positives of every option.
   
   We got to our hotel on Sunday night (we stayed at the Mahana in Ka'anapali and would recommend it for anyone, btw). We were on the island for a week and loved it.
   
   *Monday: We went around NW Maui and used this book for sightseeing. Excellent!
   *Tuesday: We learned to surf and went to a Luau. Both places were reviewed in this book.
   *Wednesday: We took the road to Hana. This is where this book really shined. He identifies every sight to see along the way using mile markers and tells you right where to turn off to not miss a thing.
   *Thursday: We went on a boat trip to Molikini based upon the review in here and loved it!
   *Friday: We went up Haleakala and traveled around the Upcountry visiting the spots he recommended. Beautiful sights and great food!
   *Saturday: Surfing and snorkeling again.
   
   We saw several people with printouts of stuff from the internet that they were using to navigate, and we saw some people that actually hired locals to tell them where to go. I can honestly say that this was the best $15 we spent on the whole trip because it provided us the freedom and convenience that those other options couldnt provide. We loved our trip and will continue to buy books from the "Revealed" series when we visit other islands or other locations on vacation. Thanks Andrew!!



3. I bought this based on reviews from friends for my upcoming honeymoon in Maui. It is informative and the author has a great sense of humor.



4. Excellent book. Enjoyed the humor as much as the useful tips and information. However, one critique I would have, is that it would've been alot easier to locate the eateries recommended in the book. A number, or a symbol right there on the map would have made it much simplier to pinpoint a restaurants location, other than just the address and phone numbers.
   David



5. Lots of info but some of it is already out of date. The Bed & breakfast laws have changed in maui so that info is useless and some of the private property issues are more of a hassle than mentioned in the book. Some of the places mentioned are no longer open to the public.

5 comments about The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2008 (Unofficial Guides).

1. Authors come off as anti-child in a book about Disney. They'd have you believe you shouldn't bring children under 7 to WDW.
   
   Also not really up-to-date. Even though this says 2008, descriptions of rides/attractions have info from a few years ago (i.e. calling Disney Hollywood Studios Disney-MGM and higlighting TV show attractions for shows that have been off the air for 4 years as though they were current).
   
   A better planning book: The Hassle Free Walt Disney World Vacation, by Steven Barrett; Walt Disney World & Orlando for Dummies, by Laura Miller; [...]



2. Whether you go for one day or two weeks, you won't get into WDW for less than $200 per person, even with a AAA discount. You are investing a substantial amount of money, and your anticipated return on investment is fun and great memories. You will only achieve that result IF YOU ARE PROPERLY PREPARED.
   
   A typical family might buy tickets from the Disney site, find their way to the park and wander in with no plan whatsoever. We met one such family on our way out of Magic Kingdom on the eve of a "Pirates and Princesses" party. We knew about the 7 PM shutdown of the park and planned our day around it. We knew that crowds are much thinner on a P&P day. Others were confused, dissapointed and angry. Those with the "park hopper" ticket option could commute to another park from 7 PM to 11 PM. The unprepared ended up at a fast food joint for the rest of the evening.
   
   "The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World" is a near-perfect manual for getting the most bang for your buck at the 4 amusement parks, the water parks, and other areas around "The World." I spent approximately 40 hours with this book from January through May, 2008, and was able to make the following decisions:
   
   1) Which Ticket Options to Buy or Avoid (and why),
   
   2) Specific Days for Each Park (via the "crowd planner" on the website - try it at www.touringplans.com for a one-month free lookahead),
   
   3) Where to Stay (Off-campus at the Marriott Springhill Suites - 5 minutes away),
   
   4) Which Attractions to Visit When in Each Park,
   
   5) Which Rides Require Fastpass (the fast-track tickets to popular attractions that require you to come back after an hour or so, then ride almost immediately),
   
   6) The Best Places to Eat (and Worst Places to Avoid) on Campus (for price and quality).
   
   If you don't find the answers that you are looking for, write to the author and ask him your question. He responded to my email very quickly. he may put your question and answer in the next edition (although at 848 pages, additions are making the book less portable). For example, I am 6'7" tall, and found that "cast members" (park workers) would accomodate my need for extra knee room by giving me 2 seats on rides like Splash Mountain, where I would not otherwise fit. I will ask the author to include that tip.
   
   I am recommending this book to everyone I know who is planning a trip to WDW. We had three days in three of the four parks; the knowledge of which attractions could and could not be skipped was well worth the price of this book.



3. This book has tons of information on everything in and around the world. I recommend getting this book, especially if you are considering staying and/or playing outside the resort. Though not big on pictures, this book does offer some funny cartoons and a good dose of the realities of a Disney vacation.



4. This is the best product I have ever purchased on amazon and the most useful. Shipped very quickly. Very useful for my 2008 Disney Trip.



5. Sadly my wife bought this book because it was new, on sale, and she wanted something to read on Disney for our upcoming trip (we're Annual Passholders) while waiting in line to pick up the children.
   
   I have reviewed the Unofficial Guide to WDW with Children version in the past and gave it one star because IMHO it just plain has too many errors. Well, guess what - they did it again. What is it with the lack of accuracy in these books?
   
   Just a few errors I know are things in the book that are wrong as examples. We recently stayed at the Caribbean Beach Resort within WDW. Nice Moderate resort. Interesting feature is that all rooms come with a refrigerator as part of the room rate - its NOT an extra at CBR. Oh, but according to this book it is and you have to request one?!?!? Or how about this, every other book rates POP Century as nicer than the All-Star resorts - except this one??
   
   We've become big fans of the PassPorter books on Disney (sold here at Amazon too). They even have a website to back up their books with updates, newsletters, etc. to keep everything up-to-the-minute. Sounds like overkill until you realize that if you have the right Discount Code or Program option you can save 4-5-600 dollars on a 6 night vacation at WDW. They seem to do all the research to keep up-to-date that this book says they do but I see ZERO evidence of for those things with which I have personal knowledge related to WDW.
   
   Pass on this one and the entire series is my best advice.

5 comments about 1,000 Places to See Before You Die: A Traveler's Life List.

1. I don't know, I guess I must be a different kind of traveller. I like to visit places that are astonishing yet not highly visited. I'm the kind of traveller that goes to those "best-kept secret" desinations to see things that most people don't even know about. I mean, who goes to Moosonee for vacation?
   
   I bought 1,000 places hoping it would recomment places of great beauty, off the beaten track, where culture and ambiance haven't been homogenized into modern life yet. Sort of life Globe Trekker, only in book form.
   
   How disappointed I was to find out it was recommending tourist traps, five star hotels, expensive tourist haunts and so on instead of giving us insider info on where the little-know best places are.
   
   It's not a bad book, it's just full of places you are bound to see if you visit the major tourist places anyway. So much so that it seemed as if the author might have gotten her info from visitor's bureaus instead of from personal experiences.
   
   Yes, the sites she recommends are wonderful, but a little too obvious. It's like saying, when you travel to NYC for the first time, be sure to visit the Empire State Building. You know all the tourists are going to go there anyway, so why bother putting that on a list of places to see before you die?
   
   But that's just me. I don't like resorts as much as I like little penizons in Slovakia.



2. This is a great book to get ideas for traveling. It covers the many obvious places, but also covers those that one would not find on a generic travel tour. It covers sites, entertainment, hotels, restaurants and more. It also tells you the best time to travel. It even tells you when it is the most crowded and gives advice not to travel to these areas during some of the most crowded times. It covers festivals, markets, fairs and more. Now, the restaurants and hotel recommendations are not for those on a budget, but it gives you the "musts" for places to stay and eat in that area. It also provides websites for most of the locations so you can look up additional information since it only gives a brief overview. This is a great book for those who are wanting to plan a trip, but don't really know where to go. This pretty much covers every region of the world. I am personally backpacking through Europe and Asia. I am still reading through this book with a highlighter and little post-it to bookmark my favorite places. I am not using this as a trip planner, but as an endless book of recommendations for my trip.



3. In case you have forgottan, the Earth is a very wonderful place. This book reminds you that there are still lots of places to visit and things to see!
   However, like all lists you might not agree with the authors list of places to visit. Especially, if you enjoy the "road less traveled", you might miss the spirit of exploration in some of these places mentioned here. But well, there is a reason that lots of people go to see the Eiffel Tower or the pyramids. Obviously the best things cant be hidden. Moments of serene beauty off the beaten track, you wont find in this book, thats something you will have to find yourself. Again, its ok, you still want to see these 1000 places mentioned in this book.
   
   -Simon



4. The book is quite good, especially in both reviewing where I have been as well as for use in planning my next trip. Ordering the book, however, was a total pain. Seems that ordering two different titles and having them sent to different addresses and then having the invoice sent to a separate address is "a pain." Also, editing/deleting addresses is not easy, at least for me.



5. Amazing book, amazing ideas, places I've never even considered are now on my list of "places to see". A must-own for anyone who loves to travel or plans on traveling some day.

5 comments about A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail.

1. It's been several years since I read this book, but it still annoys me. Bryson neatly avoids the truth: he can't hack it. He quits. He gives up. But along the way he's sure to make fun of other hikers. He's going to get it done in his jeans, he tells us as he drags along his friend that he mocks incessantly. He sure showed us.



2. A laugh-out loud tale of Bill Bryson as he hikes the Appalachian Trail. This was one of my first adult-type books my mom let me read. A hiker myself, I have read this book three times and it never fails to amuse me. The experiences listed are realistic for hiking on the AT, and Bryson's unique writing style as, in all of his books, never lets the reader down.



3. Heard A WALK IN THE WOODS, written and read by Bill Bryson
   
   It is the true tale of the author's attempt to walk the 2,100 Appalachian
   Trail, which stretches from Georgia to Maine . . . although he ultimately
   was not successful in completing the entire AT (as it is called), it wasn't
   for lack of trying.
   
   You'll find yourself actually laughing out loud at much of his
   account . . . also, you'll shake your head in disbelief about his
   having to deal with his walking companion: an out-of-shape
   Stephen Katz who thinks nothing of discarding provisions in
   order to lighten his backpack.
   
   In addition, Bryson makes history come alive as he describes
   the evolution of the trail . . . he further makes you appreciate
   the need to maintain such areas and in doing so, takes
   the National Park Service to task for not doing enough.
   
   Much of the writing is brilliant, such as this passage describing what
   it feels like when you've finally reached one of your goals:
   * When, after ages and ages, you finally reach the tell-tale world
   of truly high ground, where the chilled air smells of pine sap and
   the vegetation is gnarled and tough and wind-bent, and push through
   to the mountain's open pinnacle, you are, alas, past caring. You sprawl
   face down on a sloping pavement of granite, pressed to the rock by the
   weight of your pack, and lie there for some minutes, reflecting in a
   distant, out-of-body way that you have never before looked this closely
   at lichen, not in fact looked this closely at anything in the natural world
   since you were four years old and had your first magnifying glass. Finally,
   with a weary puff, you roll over, unhook yourself from your pack, struggle
   to your feet and realize--this is the barest fraction of what you will traverse
   before you've finished.
   
   Bryson's use of dialogue was equally impressive, as evidenced by this
   hilarious account of what happened when Bryson and Katz had their first
   encounter with a bear:
   * "Have you get anything sharp at all?"
   
   He thought for a moment. "Nail clippers."
   
   I made a despairing face. "Anything a little more vicious than that?
   Because, you see, there is definitely something out here."
   
   "It's probably just a skunk."
   
   "Then it's one big skunk. Its eyes are three feet off the ground."
   
   "A deer then."
   
   I nervously threw a stick at the animal, and it didn't move, whatever
   it was. A deer would have bolted. This thing just blinked once and
   kept staring.
   
   I reported this to Katz.
   
   "Probably a buck. They're not so timid. Try shouting at it."
   
   I cautiously shouted at it: "Hey! You there! Scat!" The creature blinked
   again, singularly unmoved. "You shout," I said.
   
   "Oh, you brute, go away, do!" Katz shouted in merciless imitation. "Please
   withdraw at once, you horrid creature."
   
   "F*ck you," I said and lugged my tent right over to his. I didn't know what
   this would achieve exactly, but it brought me a tiny measure of comfort
   to be nearer to him.
   
   "What are you doing?"
   
   "I'm moving my tent."
   
   "Oh, good plan. That'll really confuse it."
   
   Reading A WALK IN THE WOODS will motivate any past, present
   or future hiker to check out the AT . . . as for me, I think I'll take a
   pass . . . yet I will commend you, if you give it a try, and I'll look
   forward to reading about your efforts as I bask in the comforts of home.



4. There are 2 parts to this book. Part 1 is awesome! It is a great story of 2 men hiking part of the Appalachian Trail and the ups and downs they had doing it. It's funny, witty and well written. Part 2 however lags a bit. The author drives part of the trail and walk parts of it in day trips, not nearly as exciting as part 1. The only thing in my opinion that save part 2 is the history and facts the author talks about. Especially about Pennsylvania and the Delaware Water Gap. Overall I gave it 4 stars. It could have been so much better if he hiked the whole thing, but overall was still a very good read.



5. I bought this book as a replacement for a lost borrowed book. I had started reading it in Phoenix when I lost it. But the few pages I read there prompted me to buy this book from Amazon when I returned home. (And yes, I did return the new book to the lender.)

5 comments about Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia.

1. I usually don't feel the need to write a review, but after reading all the horrible reviews it got, I felt I had to. This book is amazing and incredibly funny! About a woman going through a divorce and trying to find herself. She does have some issues, but who doesn't? And if you think you don't, thats an issue! This book says to me that one thing that sounds good to someone else isn't so great for another. Her marriage sounded great to the average person, but being caught in something you don't want or isn't you is very destructive. It's about doing what you want and not having to justify it. Don't listen to all the bad reviews by people who probably give everything one star because they think everything is bad! I completely recommend reading this book if you want to laugh, find inspiration and yourself!



2. Don't even waste your time. I can count on one hand the number of books that disgusted me so much I couldn't finish them and this was one of them. The whining is unreal for someone with no real responsibility in life. The author is very melodramtic. This woman needs real problems and has WAY too much time on her hands. I really wanted to slap the selfishness out of her. Awful, awful book.



3. I think a lot of the people who have left poor reviews for this book have been a little harsh.
   I read this book as a recommendation and I have to say I really enjoyed it. If you are looking for a yoga-how-to, or a deep philosophical spiritual journey with literary prose, then you are looking at the wrong book. However, if you pick up the book as a good summer read (as I did) and take away from it the easy humor the authors voice emulates I have no doubt you will enjoy it.
   It is not as religious as it seems it is going to be in the beginning either, which again, was a good thing for me.
   All in all, I think you have to look at why you are reading this book before you judge it. I found it cute and entertaining. I will read this author again.



4. OMG .. what self-absorbed drivel. I am amazed at women who are impressed by this vapid piece of work. The author is a shallow harpy with whom I couldn't have less in common. I can't relate to any of her stupid observations or solipsistic epiphanies. I don't begrudge her not wanting children. It's probably best that women like this don't procreate. It was a massive waste of time to spend MY TIME with a woman whose world ends at the tip of her own nose. What a bore. Don't be fooled into thinking this is even a mildly well-written or amusing piece. It is a text book study in what's wrong with many so-called "sophisticated urbanites" today.



5. EG shares her journey about the purpose of pleasure, spirituality and love in her life. This book helped me reflect on my own values. I will re-read it after enjoying the first reading so I can spend more time with the questions she raises in a most entertaining manner.

5 comments about A Voyage Long and Strange: Rediscovering the New World.

1. I greatly enjoyed this book. While being scholarly sound, it is easy reading. It is the kind of book a teacher of history should embrace.



2. This book offers a look at what really took place from the Vikings to the Mayflower.
   At times serious and other time humorous. well done and easy and too fast reading.



3. The serious weakness in the book is first suggested in the grossly inaccurate colored map on the inside cover of the book. The map and text show Cabeza de Vaca's route as beginning in Texas (rather than Florida)and running through central Texas (rather than norther Mexico). Cabeza de Vaca's route has been extensively covered by well documented historical and archeological studies over the past thirty years with no one faintly suggesting the route identified by the author's map and narrative. The same comment is made regarding the map and narrative regarding the route of De Soto who spent more time west of the Mississippi than he spent east of the river, including the extensive one-year journey to the southwest to try to march overland to Mexico.I understand the interest in making the story and voyage long and strange, but this could have been accomplished within the context of well established academic studies that abound.



4. Tony Horwitz asks the very simple question - "What happened in North America between Columbus and the Pilgrims?" - a 128 year interlude that seems strangely ignored - and then searches out the answer. Along the way he also searches out where, why, and by whom it is still remembered. A very funny book as a bit of travel writing (think Bill Bryson) and slice of present day Americana, and a very solid primer on the explorations and settlement of North America before the Pilgrims came and claimed to be the first.
   
   It's not quite as good as Horwitz's book "Confederates in the Attic" - but that book sets a very high bar indeed. (If you've never read it, read that one first.) But a solid and enjoyable effort all around.



5. Horwitz spends three years traveling to the sites of early explorers and settlers who were in the Americas 100 years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. Plymouth Rock or PR was long considered the birthplace of America, Horwitz shows that other places, especially Florida, can easily claim the title.

5 comments about SAS Survival Handbook: How to Survive in the Wild, in Any Climate, on Land or at Sea.

1. I thought I would get a regular sized book. But I was wrong.
   It is not bigger than my half palm.
   
   My mistake of not reading the product dimension carefully.
   
   Be sure this is the kind of size you want!



2. This book handles a variety of topics very well. Trapping, tracking, foraging, hunting, etc., it's all covered. They are only covered in a basic sense though, so don't expect to know the "in's and out's" of tracking or identifying edible plants, but you will know enough to fare well in a survival situation.
   
   The information in the book seems to be sensible, and I've heard some of the same tips from other sources - so I wouldn't hesitate to trust it in most situations.
   
   Grammatically speaking, the writer is obviously influenced by British English so some words are a bit different. Thankfully, I know a bit of that background so it's not too unfamiliar. The author does misspell things quite frequently and uses improper punctuation at times, but that makes me believe what I'm reading a bit more.
   
   Since it tries to prepare you for a lot, it's a rather long book, but it is definitely worth the time to read it. I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a comprehensive and understandable "how-to" survival manual.



3. I am a novice in this field and I purchased this book for instruction. I was not disappointed and I'm sure that the pages will be well worn by the time I finally put it down.
   Recommended reading.



4. I've found this book to be incredibly throrough and well written. The illustrations were very helpful as well. I wish I had had this book when I as teenager and had more time to put the knowledge into practice.
   
   I did find, however that the book is more geared toward people who could potentially get caught in a survival situation for several weeks or even months; for example soldiers in enemy territory. Nowadays, an average outdoor enthusiast, if faced with a survival scenario, is probably going to be more concerned about signalling for help or getting out of there, than say, testing a plant for several days to find out whether it's edible or not; or setting up snare traps to catch animal food.
   
   However, these are skills that I'd like to have anyway, and are unvaluable for anyone who spends time in the outdoors.



5. Excellent survival handbook. It is very well written and has illustrations for everything that is taught, plus it comes the British SAS, a source that has been using these techniques for a long time. It provides extensive information on subjects that are critical and brief overviews of subjects that are unessential. You can use this handbook whether you plan to use it in a single climate type or in multiple climates. I use this book for my deployment in Iraq, I recommend this book.

5 comments about How the States Got Their Shapes.

1. I agree the book has some interesting ideas in it, just not done very well. I could not even identify a thesis.
   
   First, the book has no footnotes, no in text quotations from primary sources, and explanations are very, very brief. Each state gets about a page of typed material. The maps are small and lack the few details that are referenced in the text. For example, if the coal fields of north west Georgia explain the western border of Georgia, show us a map of the coal fields. If the Appalachain Mountains influenced Alabama, Georigia, and the Carolins, show us a map of the Appalachian Mountains. An elementary principle of writing books about maps: if you refer to something in the text as geographically significant, you better put a map in showing why. Maps are pictures, and writing about maps means using pictures as well as words.
   
   Second, the book is poorly structured. While it may make sense to organize the states from A to W with each state given individual treatment, a reader can't easily grasp themes and concepts that guide one state's development with another. An example: Mississippi and Alabama and Florida. All these states's histories are bound up with each other, but to get the picture you have to flip through the book and maybe you can get an idea of what happened. A more logical structure would be to create sections (the Colonies, The Nortwest Territories, The Plains, The South, The West, The Pacific Coast with Alaska and Hawai'i) and then the reader can easily understand the forces at work. The states didn't develop in alphabetical order; why does this book?
   
   Third: The book makes use of many implicit assumptions about why borders "should be" one way yet are not explained. While mentioned, it is never fully explained why Congress used equality as the basis for creating states. Equality of territory, population, access, ??? Since this idea makes up a substantial portion of the book, it needs to be developed fully with references, quotations from statutes, floor debates, etc.; more than a bibilography at the end. And the frequent assumption that it's "normal" to use rivers for borders or straight lines is not supported at all. Are these assumptions warranted?
   
   The idea of the book is interesting, yet the execution leaves much to be desired. It has so much potential to show how economics, culture, and movement interact with geography to define political spaces. It is so lacking in support and important detail as to make it worthless for serious use.
   
   I gave it two stars and not one because the author is, after all, a playwright and not a serious historian, and so I forgive the "History Channel" syle treatment of the material. The editors and publishers are to blame for the book's inadequacies. They should know what a history book is supposed to look like!



2. The contents of this book are well described in other reviews. My only addition is to say that, as a total geography buff with low tolerance for chintzy illustrations in books that purport to be on that topic, I was not disappointed at all. There are 179 illustrations (i.e., maps), showing the "geographic" development of each state. The maps contain just enough detail; any more would have expanded the size of the book beyond usefulness as a 50-state overview. Some reviewers have criticized the alphabetical organization of the book, which necessitates a fair amount of cross referencing to other chapters (e.g., "See Figure 153 in SOUTH DAKOTA"), and suggested that it be organized instead by region (Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, etc.). This is a fair criticism, but in the end I think it boils down to personal taste. A regional organization probably would have required reading lengthy exegeses of regional developments, which would have turned this into a history book. As it is, it is a complete, concise, and copious survey of the topic -- and a delightful read.



3. This book is most interesting for those of us who enjoy maps along with history.
   
   I would recommend reading it.



4. This a rather interesting book regarding how the shapes of the states were determined. It would have been nicer though if the author had listed them in cronlogical order rather than alphabetically.



5. I was unimpressed with the book. The book is divided into sections for each state with very factual details of how each border was formed. As a result of its layout some of the sections are repetitive, with the same information often presented in two or more states. What is missing, however, is the human element of the story. There is no detail about skirmishes, no information on backroom fights or compromises, and no intereste side stories to give the book life. It is a true reference book, fitting in well between my world atlas and dictionary.

5 comments about 1,000 Places to See in the U.S.A. & Canada Before You Die.

1. I tend to be very cautious about traveling in the US especially when I heard that California is in the top 15 most dangerous states in the US but this book helps me pinpoint where I want to go. I feel that if it's in the book, it must be safe enough to visit.



2. This was a great addition to our library. Now that our children are old enough to enjoy and get something out of vacations, we will be using this more often. It's a great way to have the kids help choose the next destination-adventure.



3. If she had, she never would've lumped the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village into a category labeled AUTO MUSEUMS. It deserves a full, explanatory entry. Ms. Schultz is probably unaware that Henry Ford purchased and moved buildings such as the Wright Brothers' bicycle shop, Thomas Edison's Menlo Park laboratory, Stephen Foster's house, Noah Webster's house, and so many more to Dearborn, Michigan. Lincoln's Illinois courthouse used to feature his chair from the Ford Theater (it has been moved into the Henry Ford museum). The Henry Ford museum does offer an incredible collection of automobiles but also so much more. I definately would've made different choices than Ms. Schultz. In this book and in her 1,000 Places to See in the World, she gives Shelburne Farm in Vermont a full entry. Shelburne Farm is a nice, living history museum but it does not compare to Greenfield Village. Now I wonder if her other recommendations are worthwhile. I have both books. I understand some places would get missed, but I definately would've make many different choices.



4. My husband and I are planning a trip through the southwest this summer and found this to be very helpful in planning our trip. Also, learned of a few places we did not know about, that are close to home. Anyone who likes to travel should buy this book.



5. This book is great, but it is missing some key places to visit or see before you die. There are others places that do not validate why I should visit them. This book is a great guide, but do not use it as a "be all" bible type book.