2 comments about National Geographic Panama Adventure Map, Waterproof.

1. Es un buen mapa para el viejero, muy buenos colores y material resistente a la humedad.



2. National Geographic did a wonderful job with this map. Very attention to detail not only in the topographic map itself, but it's also loaded with pictures & information regarding the regions of the country. There's also a smaller map of Panama City, but not as detail as the rest of the map. Very colorful - expected for National Geographic anyway. Even main highways are included. Very well put together; it definetly complements their travel book. Highly recommended!!!

5 comments about From the Holy Mountain: A Journey among the Christians of the Middle East.

1. A journey of six months starting from Holy Mountain Athos in Greece, ending at Kharga in the middle of desert in upper Egypt, passing through Istanbul, Antioch (Antakya), Urfa, Diyarbakir, Mardin, Midyat in Turkey; Hassake, Aleppo, Seidnaya, Serjilla, Al-Barra, Damascus in Syria; Beirut, Baalbeck, Bsharre in Lebanon; West Bank, Jarusalem, Nazareth in Palestine; Alexandria, Cairo, Asyut, Kharga in Egypt.. These are the lands where three big religions emerged and spreaded. And, these were the lands where civilisations rised and declined one after another.
   
   Dalyrimple's narrative is a lamentation to the extinction of multi-ethnic, multi-cultural Middle East. Author's ability to combine history with today's facts, to narrate with the knowledge and beautiful language of history and literature makes this book a feast of reading.
   
   Moschos' Spiritual Meadow was about the decline of Byzantium, this book is about the extinction of what is left from Eastern Christianity and Ottoman multiculturalism.



2. Yes! My title nabbed from the Amazon reviewer. Dalrymple's journey through the middle east, retraces the Byzantine traveller-monlk, John Moschos, author of, The Spiritual Meadow'. In the late C6th, accompanied by his pupil, he set to gather the wisdom of the desert fathers from Mt Athos, to Kurdisatan, then south through Syria, the Lebanon, Palestine, and on up the Nile. Dalrymple's trip in the early 90s was frought with tensions which today would cause an angel trepidation. The book was a revelation to me, filling in considerable gaps about the foundation and correlations of so many parties in the fermenting region. Muslim fundamentlists provide stiff opposition to Dalrymple's historical and current enquiries. But they are not unique in this. His evocation of place is crisply poetic and touched with memorable detail. His feel for people is very sympathetic. A work justly applauded.



3. A trip through the Middle-East is most of all getting to know the Muslim world. The part of its' history from Byzantine times, meaning the presence and history of Christian settlements, is easily forgotten or at least figures in the background only. After having read this book the Middle-East will never be the same to me again. With the exception of the Armenian genocide, I was hardly aware of all tragedies which happened but most of all: which are today still happening to the very old Christian communities of these countries. Not only are they in permanent danger of being killed, often with no punishment of the perpetrators from the authorities, and have they already been driven out of places where they lived since a 1500 years, also their ancient buildings, art, manuscripts, possessions of huge historic meaning, are being destroyed. As these communities and their material heritage represent much of the roots of Western civilization, this loss is a huge loss for the history of mankind. What's going on is a complete annihilation of the wonderful mosaic of different civilizations this world once produced. As since many years but now more than ever the Middle-East is the focus of world politics, "From the Holy Mountain" should be read by a much wider group of people than lovers of good travelogues or lovers of these countries only. A most important and readable study, implicating a plea for tolerance and respect, it should be a must-read for all politicians in the world.



4. This fascinating book recounts Dalrymple's 1994 reenactment of the 6th century Christian spiritual journey of John Moschos and Sophronios and is compellingly written. There, however, the value of this book ends.
   
   The author's six months of travel through Greece, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Egypt did not provide an accurate portrayal of the plight of Middle Eastern Christians, who everywhere in the Muslim world are attacked without reason, maimed, and massacred, a situation that unfortunately also reflects Islamic early history.
   
   Dalrymple retraced the steps of Sophronios, yet neglected anywhere in his homage to that self same monk to recount the learned man's graphic descriptions of the murderous initial Muslim conquest of Israel.
   
   For the record, Sophronios had reported the massacres of 4,000 Jewish, Christian and Samaritan peasants in the 634 sack and devastation of the Gaza region--up to Cesarea. But the Jerusalem patriarch noted that Jerusalem, Gaza, Jaffa, Cesarea, Nablus and Beth Shean were isolated and forced to close their gates, according to the Islamic scholar Bat Ye'or. Indeed, the traditional Christmas pilgrimage from Jerusalem to Bethlehem was impossible in 634, Sophronios wrote, as the Muslim conquerors effectively imprisoned Christians in Jerusalem.
   
   Surprisingly, Dalrymple also omitted Sophronios' description of the Christians' bondage---not "by tangible bonds, but chained and nailed by fear of the Saracens," whose "savage, barbarous and bloody sword" kept them locked in, Sophronios writes. He further described the Muslims as "beastly and barbarous...filled with every diabolical savagery," and likened the state of the Christians to that of Adam expelled from Paradise, and their sorrows paralleled his sorrows, according to Dr. Andrew Bostom.
   
   Sophronios depicts the conquests from 632 to 637 as "very violent as well as decisive." In a synodal encyclical addressed to Patriarch Sergios of Constantinople, Bostom reports, Sophronios lamented the Arab conquest as "furious and brutal," "godless and impious" and its perpetrators as "villainous and God-hating Saracens," who in 637 left a train of destruction behind them, along with the abandoned human bodies devoured by the wild birds of region's deserts.
   
   Dalrymple ignores all this history---despite his supposed reverence for Sophronios. And he also inexplicably sympathizes with current-day Muslim warlords who drove Lebanon's Christian majority from their homes. Indeed, he blames the Christians as the cause of their own suffering. Dalrymple wrongly calls Christians, particularly Lebanese Maronites, to account for "intransigence, their unapologetic Christian supremacism, their contempt for their Muslim neighbors, and their point-blank refusal to share Lebanon...."
   
   Wherever possible, Dalrymple also blames the current plight of Middle Eastern Christians on the Israel. He expresses outright hatred for Israelis who helped those victims--and continue to offer safe haven to other oppressed Middle Eastern religious minorities and homosexuals. One gets more honest perspectives from Middle Eastern Christians like journalist Brigitte Gabriel, Prof. Habib C. Malik, Prof. Walid Phares, Walid Shoebat, Anis Shorresh and Pakistani Christian Patrick Sookhdeo.
   
   The largest error of this book is the author's failure to recognize a key problem of Middle East Christians---one that the late, martyred Lebanese president Bashir Gemayel identified as their dhimmitude--their undue submission to Muslims, according to Islamic scholar Bat Ye'or.
   
   Distressingly, Dalrymple also finds endless fault with the residence--however rightful under international law--of Israelis and Jewish people in areas on the West Bank of the Jordan River. He wants them removed, period. That's Unchristian--especially given the peaceful and legal presence of more than 1 million Arab citizens in Israel.
   
   Dalrymple unquestioningly accepts Muslim Arab determination to evict all Jews and Christians from a Palestinian state, if ever one is created.
   
   I don't understand how a Christian writer, ostensibly sympathetic with Christians, could be so hostile to Christian, Jewish and other victims of Muslim radicalism, and so unaccountably empathetic with their oppressors.
   
   This book is a real disappointment.
   
   --Alyssa A. Lappen



5. As a seminary student, I had been exposed to many of the groups Dalrymple visited during his journey. Though we treated them largely as doctrinal heretics and schismatics, they were lifeless groups and sects in the pages of our medieval church history text books. "From the Holy Mountain" brought those people to life in ways that I had not experienced before.
   
   In addition to the narratives that draw you in, the author's keen eye for details and his ability to weave multiple threads together make you *feel* this book rather than read it. I came away feeling almost as if I had made the journey myself, and what more can we ask for from a book like this?

2 comments about National Geographic Traveler: Panama (National Geographic Traveler).

1. I purchased this book in anticipation of traveling to Panama in January. I was able to find every place we intend to go and also find a lot of useful hints for our travels. We have traveled to a number of countries and always buy some sort of guides to let us know what to expect and to help us plan our trip. This book gives a concise description of the areas without being too concise but also without being too verbose. I also have the Frommer's guide to Panama and much prefer the much more colorful National Geographic guide.



2. National Geographic is well known by the quality of their maps & their awesome photography; and this travel guidebook it's no exception. It's very informative without being too in depth. The pictures makes you feel like you're there (in my opinion). This one can complement the Moon's guidebook which focus is just the opposite. Well put together. Highly recommended.

5 comments about Streetwise New Orleans Map - Laminated Center City Street Map of New Orleans, Louisiana - Folding pocket size travel map with integrated streetcar & bus ... Titles) (National & International Titles).

1. This is the best map I've found detailing the French Quarter and Garden District. Compact and sturdy.



2. I ordered this map from Amazon, sight unseen, but based on reviews. As a reviewer myself, I know the value of these reviews. However, when this dinky little map fell out of the envelope, I was so disappointed--UNTIL I actually sat down with the map and [...] and planned out the trip.
   
   Let me describe the map and try to show you how compact is the size and the information. It is 16 inches long and 8 1/2 inches high. On one side is a detailed map of the French Quarter and Central Business District, including the Superdome. At the center top is the Treme District with the Louis Armstrong Park. All the hotels, restaurants, and tourist attractions are marked in the French Quarter and elsewhere. I was so surprised because the map is so compact. Streetcar and bus routes are also indicated.
   
   When I found hotels on the website, I then found them on the map and could easily decide if the location was suitable. Since we are going during off-season and during the week, prices are exceptional. [...] is an excellent website to aid in planning.
   
   On the flip side of the map is the entirety of New Orleans on a smaller scale with a larger scale of an extension of the Garden District from the French Quarter to Audubon Park and Zoo, another family-oriented tourist destination. Along the top and right side are listings of major streets with coordinate points, as well as hotels, places of interest, restaurants with coordinates.
   
   You might want a larger, more detailed map for getting in and out of New Orleans or if your hotel is outside the city. If not, "Streetwise New Orleans Map" is truly all you need. See you at Cafe du Monde bright and early for cafe au lait and beignets. We've got a city to explore and an adventure to live.



3. This small laminated map was very handy while on vacation in New Orleans. I did think the price (after shipping ) of over $10 was a bit pricey but hopefully it will last for a long time.Great detail, even had our hotel on it!



4. A nifty little map/guide that hilites important places, is easy to read and carry with you. Will take a physical beating as well. Good purchase.



5. I always appreciate these Streetwise maps. The fold easily and are laminated so you can toss them into a travel bag, back pack or purse without worry. Very durable compared to most maps.
   
   My only complaint is that I wish it were just a tad smaller...it is just a tiny bit too big to fit in my back jeans pockets. A long time ago I had several maps that were similarly laminated and easy to fold, but had more than the four sections this one has, so it folded smaller and was thus even easier to carry when you aren't lugging a bag around.

3 comments about Ideo Eyes Open: New York (Eyes Open).

1. Not just an unusually thoughtful collection of places you'll want to eat, shop, and play. IDEO's keen observations and photos spark curiosity about how our improvisations and adaptations shape public space. A hip crash course in the cultural anthropology of modern NY.



2. I'm posting similar reviews for this pair of Ideo Eyes Open guides, one for Ideo Eyes Open: New York and one for Ideo Eyes Open: London, because they were released at the same time and share a common approach, with some promise of more guides to follow in the series.
   
   Ideo is a design and image consulting firm that has created this series incorporating some of its more general design approaches and hoping the reader will slow down and look at usual things in an unusual way: "It's really just a matter of getting out there and opening yourself up to it all." Both books are beautifully designed, handy in the back pack or purse, with some clever "for your comments" stickers to highlight your own favorites.
   
   The firm made its name in designing products, including the Palm V, but more recently has focused on environment design. Fred Dust is team leader of Smart Space, the company's real estate division and the editor of this series. One of Dust's first projects was Dilbert's Ultimate Cubicle designed in consultation with Scott Adams. It featured a boss monitor, an electronic window, a fold down Murphy chair, an Aquarium module and a roll up hammock.
   
   In their projects, the team the starts with a "deep dive," during which "Smart Space designers, anthropologists and researchers spend days -- sometimes weeks -- shadowing people to observe how they live: when and where they eat, what time they go to bed, what their hobbies are, how they spend their money." The Eyes Open website and guide books follow the same approach: they publish unique experiences shared by IDEO staff and friends, and offering site visitors the opportunity to submit their own unique experiences in text and imagery.
   
   Here are a couple of examples from the London guide of suggestions:
   
   "Instead of taking high tea at a hotel lounge, go to Coffee@157. The light fixtures in this coffeehouse, as you can see, are made of to-go cups. Outside, a yellow vending machine dispenses artworks for less than 5 pounds each."
   
   "Crumbs and Doilies is a boutique cupcake shop in the Sunday UpMarket, which is a spontaneous gathering of people selling arts and crafts and playing carom."
   
   I'm not entirely sure who these guides will appeal to; there is precious little of the traditional guidebook information about prices, opening hours, travel directions, etc. But the goal is certainly worthy: opening yourself to your surroundings while traveling can be a wonderful experience. I remember once sitting in a shady cave high above a canyon in Utah one hot summer day enjoying the scenery. Suddenly, I realized my body fit the hollow perfectly, and saw to my surprise that the rock had been hollowed out to make a comfortable seat. All at once I was engulfed in a culture several hundred years old, re-living the life of sentries watching for approaching enemies.
   
   These guidebooks promise the same flashes of discovery, and so far they have delivered on a couple of occasions in New York City. I can hardly wait to try out this edition in London later this year.
   
   Robert C. Ross 2008



3. This book from Ideo authors shows a creative approach to exploring New York City. Some of the recommended visits are unusual and out-of-the-ordinary, but are ways of seeing the unusual. I look forward to similar reviews of other U.S. cities.

4 comments about Wyoming Atlas & Gazetteer, Fourth Edition.

1. This atlas is a great book to have on hand while driving through Wyoming, especially via the backroads. It's a must-have for any traveler and resident.



2. This was very well made, for an atlas. The format and legend was easy to understand, and it certainly helped my not so great navigational skills.



3. DeLorme has done it again! Stellar mapping and attention to detail make this a grand publication. Two thumbs up!



4. The Delorme atlases/gazetteers are valuable references especially if you are traveling the back roads. Compared to a regular road map, there is much more detail to find your way just about anywhere in the atlas coverage area. If you need a lot of detail, you can then purchase topographic maps. Special features are also noted. Get one of these for any state where you plan to explore off the beaten trail. I already have atlases for five states, and the collection will surely grow in coming years.

5 comments about Nine Hills to Nambonkaha: Two Years in the Heart of an African Village.

1. Erdman's work in Nine Hills to Nambonkaha presents a romantic view of village life in Africa. Her experience from the Peace Corp allows Erdman to paint a rich and lively culture of life in an economically and medicinally depressed area. Coping with challenges of communicating prevention and awareness of AIDS, infant care and personal hygiene, Erdman fully imparts to the reader her dedication in submersing herself into the social rituals and cultural norms in Nambonkaha. Her story telling has a romantic undertone in the spirit of human compassion and tolerance. I highly recommend this narrative.



2. Honest, earnest, compelling, extremely well-written narrative of two years serving the Peace Corps in a remote village of Ivory Coast-- I emerged from this reading with a knowledge and respect for the people of the village, as well as for the sincerity and objectivity of the author. Sarah Erdman's account of how she works out her unique role as an outsider with a mission to improve family health in a tradition-bound, closely-knit rural village is one of the best of its kind.
   
   Also recommended: Peter Hessler's RIVER TOWN and Mike Tidwell's THE PONDS OF KALAMBAYI.



3. I spent two years in Africa with the Peace Corps and really looked forward to reading this book. I thought it was a good read, but was a little slow. I suspect that readers who have not lived in Africa may find it more entertaining that I did as much of the joy of reading this book is in the discovery of village culture.



4. "Nine Hills of Nambonkaha" is a wonderful first-person account of a young Peace Corps worker's experiences in Ivory Coast in 2000 and 2001. She served as a health care worker, primarily trying to teach the village women about prenatal health and infant care. AIDS became an issue while she was there. Erdman shows maturity beyond her years in her efforts to relate with people of all ages and stations in a little village as remote from her private school upbringing as could be imagined. With patience and respect she teaches invaluable lessons about prenatal and infant care, family planning and disease prevention.
   
   Both her efforts to work with the local people within their culture and her writing skills are inspiring, hopefully enough so to cause other young people to serve the world and themselves in similar fashion.



5. I served only briefly in the Peace Corps in Sokode, Togo before having to return to the U.S. with a breakdown. It was my overwhelming love for the land and its people that was my downfall, and that took me back to West Africa to work in Nigeria nine years later. I fell totally in love with every chapter that was written here. Every detail that was skillfully described illuminated that which I knew and that which I wanted to know better. From the moment I finished the book, I wanted to reach Sarah to let her know how wonderfully-spent was her year in writing this narrative. To date, at PC HQ, I have never done so. When she states how the electrification of Nambonkaha affected the various people in the village, this miracle that even allows me to write this note, she states: "...as for me, I'll miss the stars." If you don't sense the weight of those words, perhaps you don't yet understand Africa. More than anything else I have read, this will help. I can't imagine serving in the Peace Corps or even visiting West Africa, without reading this book.

5 comments about Airline: A Strategic Management Simulation (4th Edition).

1. Used worldwide, this is one of the best selling simulations for use in senior level business strategy, global strategy, marketing management, services marketing/management, airline management and tourism managment courses. The book that is listed is the STUDENT MANUAL for the course. The instructor will have the software for the simulation. This is not a stand-alone product but must be administered by the instructor in the course. This book would be the same book as purchased in the college bookstore.



2. The manager or student who does not have the assistance of an 'airline-experienced' professor, the computer software and the additional training material makes this simulation process much more difficult to comprehend, understand and complete. If the publisher and the writer would include the extra material plus the computer software, this could be a great training tool for many airline managers and others.

   If you must buy this simulation in its present form, consider purchasing Paul Dempsey's book: Airline Management to get through this.




3. Stay tuned folks, the new and improved 4th edition is scheduled for publication during the third quarter of this year!



4. This is one of the least pleasant learning experiences I have ever been through. I used this book and associated software (which you must download) in a graduate Aviation Route Planning class, and this book takes every opportunity to disappoint.

   Understand that this is a simulation guide and you must use the simulation as part of a registered class. As for faults, there are many. The most glaring error is the almost total absence of information related to selections you must make from the very beginning. There is essentially no discussion of pros and cons of various options presented, therefore if any of the information is not completely understood prior to beginning the class (which obviously defeats the purpose of the class) errors can be made which can prove disastrous for the remainder of the simulation. Only my long history in the industry assisted me in making reasonable choices in the numerous gray areas.

   If you insist on taking a class that uses this simulation, buy a comprehensive airline management text and read it prior to starting the class (perhaps the books by Douganis would be most helpful). Don't even think about buying this for personal use; you will get nothing from it.

   As an aside, the software is extremely buggy (for myself and many others in my class), so be prepared to enter all decisions multiple times, have data disappear, never be able to find your information, etc.

   All in all this is without peer in the truly horrible textbook category. If you can take an equivalent course based on case studies, or for that matter ANY other text, by all means do so. I was obviously very disappointed by this book (and software): it sounded like a good idea at the time, and I genuinely thought it could prove of value to my knowledge of the materiel; instead all I got was indigestion.




5. This is an integrative simulation: one must make decisions in all of the areas of running a business. Although the context is the airline industry, most, if not all, of the generic decisions one must make in business are contained. For example, decisions must be made in the areas of price, promotion, training and dividends.
   
   I use this simulation in some of my upper level business classes. Since it is a strategic simulation, you need some prior knowledge of the different functional areas to make wise decisions. If you do not possess this prior knowledge, then you need the willingness to do some research in your areas of weakness.
   
   Many of my students find this to be one of the highlights of the class. Some, however, do struggle with it. If one keeps an attitude of learning as the ultimate goal, and stays motivated towards that goal, then this simulation can be a positive learning experience. The simulation can and will probably require serious thought and effort.

1 comments about Moleskine City Notebook London (Moleskine City Notebooks).

1. I picked this up for a dear friend who lived in London while attending LSE and has nothing but fond memories. They have EU and USA cities--it's not a Lonely Planet type guide full of places and ideas--this one has maps, street indices and Tube stops for where you might wander, but leaves the driving (and writing) to you. I have owned Moleskine journals for years and this series lives up to the history.

2 comments about Frommer's Banff & Jasper National Parks (Park Guides).

1. The key feature of Frommer's guides is their "what to do if" pages. While I was on a tour which took us to certain attractions, there was sufficient free time to explore others. Having someone to guide you to the most worthwhile attractions depending on how much time you have available is helpful when visiting for the first time. I took some of their suggestions, but also found others just as interesting. The guide book is targeted for the mainstream adult audience rather than youth or those on a frugal budget. The pages of need to know items as well as items such as where to find bookstores and other make it very handy. The pages concerning accommodations and restaurants are as current as can be.
   
   I highly recommend it for its target audience
   
   Jonathan



2. Nice concise descriptions and good details of places to see, visit, and things to do. Easy to follow format and the index was surprisingly good. Good tips for hiking in the Canadian Rockies. Nice small size made it easy to keep this resource in a backpack pocket.