5 comments about Stories from Puerto Rico (Legends of).

1. I found this book to be very helpful in two important ways: widening my perspective of Latin culture, and bettering my Spanish reading comprehension. The 18 stories are each short enough to keep the reader interested in the story, but filled with enough vocabulary to keep him or her constantly learning. Plus, the reader that is a little shaky can use the opposite page in English as a crutch, and there is also an index of vocabulary in the back of the book if one would prefer that approach. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to further their vocabulary, while at the same time broaden their cultural perspective.



2. I recommend this book to all people, especially the Puerto Ricans, because it talks about our roots, our culture and our different ethnic origins. After you read this book you will understand our Spanish people more, know about our needs and be more understandable of Puerto Rican people.
   
   My best regards to Robert L. Muckley and Adela Martínez-Santiago for their great job in this wonderful book.



3. This was a present for my friend whos is Puerto Rician he loved the book.



4. This is the second "Side-by-Side" book I have read.
   I prefer the first, "Stories from Latin America,"
   because the editors of that volume better understood
   their purpose -- which is to present side-by-side versions
   of the same story, such that a reader conversant in one
   language but not the other, may learn new vocabulary, verify
   verb tense, etc. If one looks at the back cover of "Stories
   from Puerto Rico," one sees that it says there that "we've
   placed the Spanish and English stories side by side -- lado a
   lado -- so you can practice and improve your reading skills in your
   new language while enjoying the support of your native language.
   That way, you'll avoid the inconvenience of constantly having to
   look up unfamiliar words and expressions in a dictionary."
   Well, you had better have a dictionary handy if you plan to
   learn from this book. I have been exasperated time and again by
   English translations that are too loose to be useful. If one is
   translating for the purpose of conveying the sense and spirit of
   a story, then a precise word-for-word translation is unnecessary.
   However, this book is designed for language students who are trying
   to learn a foreign language. A precise translation is just what's
   needed, and I think it's what was promised on that back cover. Yet,
   this is not what the book delivers. Let me give an example. There
   are many to choose from. This one appears on page 117. Here's the
   Spanish version:
   
   "No sabemos si existió, ni dónde, ni cuándo, pero sus desventuras
   han hecho reír a generaciones de puertoriquenos. A continuación
   encontrará una versión de una historia de Juan Bobo." [I've omitted
   the diacritical mark on the "n" in puertoriquenos, but it's there in
   the text.]
   
   Now here's the English version of the same sentences:
   
   "We don't know if he really existed, or where, or when, but his
   misadventures have entertained generations of Puerto Ricans. The
   following is one version of a story about Foolish Jack."
   
   Here now is my problem with the English translation. First, the
   word "entertained." The Spanish word translated is "reír." The
   Spanish word means "to laugh." Why didn't the translator give us
   the precise translation? The clause should read, "his adventures have made generations of
   Puerto Ricans laugh." What's wrong with this more precise translation?
   Had I not recognized that the Spanish verb is similar to the French
   for "laugh" (which I know already), then I might not have bothered
   to look the word up. I might have assumed that "reír" means "to
   entertain." It does not. My second problem with the English translation
   has to do with the last sentence. The Spanish verb "encontrará" is
   simply not translated. As though that weren't bad enough, the tense
   has been changed from future to present. As a person trying to learn
   Spanish (that's why I bought this book), I want to know the meaning and
   tense of "encontrará." The Spanish sentence should have been translated
   as follows: "Following, you will find a version of one story about Juan
   Bobo." Is that so hard? What did the translator think he was doing?
   What did he think his purpose was?
   
   This book still has value, and that's why I give it three stars. The
   English translation helps convey the general sense of a sentence, and
   that is usually enough to help the reader fill in the gaps. However,
   a dictionary is still required -- especially since some of the Spanish
   vocabulary in not included in the glossary.
   
   A very sloppy job of editing. "Stories from Latin America" is better
   done.



5. I bought this book for a student of mine with Puerto Rican heritage. He loved having Spanish on one side and English on the other. He was not an avid reader, but he loved this book so much that he read it in a week or so.

5 comments about Cruisin' the Fossil Freeway: An Epoch Tale of a Scientist and an Artist on the Ultimate 5,000-Mile Paleo Road Trip.

1. One part Easy Rider, one part On the Road with Charles Kuralt, and one part "stuff to find by the side of the road." Mix up these three and add an interesting commentary of "how things got to be the way they are" and you'll have some idea of what "Cruisin' the Fossil Freeway" is like. I've read "The Bone Wars" (Cope vs Marsh) and, while I find the topic interesting, I had to drag myself through parts of it. I also have a number of "Roadside Geology" books that I'm generally disappointed with. In "Cruisin'," Dr. Johnson gives details about the first scientists on the scene, plus precise locations & basic geology, and manages to make it all humorous and entertaining. The Easy Rider camaraderie between Johnson and artist Troll is often quite amusing, and the sketches of personalities they meet along the road makes what could be a very dry subject full of personable details. The octogenarian racing to beat Johnson to a fossil, the 16 year old girl with an Allosaurus under her bed, the "King of Trilobites" who has little more than disdain for fossils ... all keep the narrative far from a textbook coverage of geology. No, I don't know the author well enough for him to buy me lunch or have a piece of the royalties. I just really enjoyed both the personalities and the fossil info in the book. If you're serious about collecting, get the separate map as well: not only is it covered in Trollish art, but it provides an accurate index of fossil locales throughout the Western states (in much more detail and over broader areas than the book ... and better than any other source I've seen).



2. Funny,thought-provoking story with historic information on paleontological sites and the people who search for fossils.



3. Caution! Paleo fever is catching. I already had a light dose of it before reading the book. Not many people carry around a small chunk of dinosaur rib in their purse just for the heck of it. (It makes a hilarious conversation piece at security check points. Most screeners don't want anything more to do with the purse after finding the bone.)
   
   Now, after reading the book, I have a full blown case, and am itching to get back on the road. This book strikes just the right balance between hard information and just plain fun.
   
   We went to Montana last summer and met several people who were at least as interesting as the bones - with strange tales of discovery and survival. Guess what! after reading the book, I now know that there is a whole world of fossils and people just waiting to be discovered.
   
   This book answers a lot of questions that I had - i.e. what on earth is a concretion? Before reading the book, I could recognize one, but couldn't define what it was. Now I know more about what they are and how they form.
   
   The book delivers a steady drip of valid scientific information that you almost don't realize that you are getting. (The author is a curator at the Denver Museum.)
   
   The book will also tell you how to recognize and find dinosaur tracks at 65 miles an hour. - I won't give away the secret,but, I'll give you a hint: it involves birthday cake and ants.
   
   Be warned! If you read this book, you will be left screaming for a ROAD TRIP in the great old American tradition.



4. The book was listed in Science News, which is a weekly publication with current news in the world of Science. My spouse, who is a Registered Professional Geologist, asked me to purchase it for her. At first glance she thought it was a children's book, however; in reading further realized the book was intended for adults. Her rating is that the publication was very good, both well written and illustrated. This rating means a lot because it is from someone who must have at least a zillion books on Geology and also has a Masters Degree in the subject.



5. Kirk Johnson of the Denver Museum of Natural History and his traveling companion, artist Ray Troll, take us on a goofy whirlwind tour of fossil sites in the West that is funny and also informative. Kirk Johnson explains a lot of geological concepts along the way, while weaving in great anecdotes and entertaining sketches of the whacky characters who live and work at many of the sites they visit. Ray Troll's art, as always, is great and often quite surreal, and there's lots of it on every page. Highly recommended!

No comments about Planet Earth's Greatest Motorcycle Adventure Tours.

5 comments about The Story of Spain: The Dramatic History of Europe's Most Fascinating Country.

1. Is there substance? Yes, not a lot, but there is a brief overview of history here.
   
   Is there fluff? Oh hell yes and way too much of it. There are just way too many asides and way too much focus on kings rather than conditions. For example, he explains that Caesar may have had a homosexual escapade in Spain. NOT PERTINENT and a little offensive to boot. Remove such things and you have about 50 pages of worthy reading and I have to question some of his findings in those 50.
   
   He goes to great lengths to brush over Spanish atrocities in the New World and at Home, claiming they are basically English racism towards the Spanish designed as a PR campaign against. I have no doubt that such existed as the two countries have long had problems, but that doesn't mean the Spanish Conquistadors weren't brutal (and downright evil at times). And the Inquisition should never have detractors. The most telling moment of the book happens, after detailing this "racism", he then goes on another aside to tell how the Irish sold out the Spanish for a bottle of whisky. Holy crap is that the pot calling the kettle black and how any editor would let that slip through, calls into question the entire book. So I learned a little from it, but it's not worth your effort. Seek other books.



2. While visiting Spain with my wife we bought this book in Seville. I enjoyed every part of it especially the end of each chapter which holds a list of the monuments relevant to the history of that chapter. I took it on a trip to Spain with my wife and it made the trip magical.
   
   This book reviews the history of Spain from the Romans to nowadays. In his witty account, the author goes on to reveal the love, and bed affairs of kings that you wouldn't see in your censored Spanish history textbook.
   For once I discovered that the world Spain comes from the Phoenician world Hispalis, 'the land of the rabbits' and that the soccer fervor that lives through Spain has its origins in the likes of Franco.
   I am Spanish and learned from this book more than from all my Spanish history classes. I finally got to read about the Spanish Civil war, which was always in the last chapter of the history book and, mysteriously we never had time to cover during class (I went to a catholic school)
   
   Many ides on this book reminded me of the 'Da Vince Code', I wonder if Dan Brown also bought the book in the cathedral of Seville while visiting there?



3. This book is a very interesting general history of Spain and its history. The book traces chronologically the development of Spain from its prehistoric origins to the present day. The most fascinating section is when the author deals with the Recoquista, the 800 year long struggle by Christians to win Spain back from Moorish occupation. In addition, the book deals with the peaceful co-existance of three cultures, Jewish, Moorish and Christian, that existed in Spain for some two hundred years. This culture cooperation was one of the high points of Spanish culture and civilization. With the unity of Catholic Spain, this cultural tolerance disappeared. The author deals with the cruelty of the Spanish Civil War in a very objective and clear fashion. This book is an excellent introduction for any student or tourist who wants to visit this amazingly diverse country.



4. This book is a shocking fabrication of the authors fantasy. Sweeping statements presented as fact. Enourmous errors of history. A very badly written paper, giving no explanation of the sources of information. Huge chunks of fabricated ideas and story, the authors opinion of circumstance is vastly personal and reveals what I can only discribe as an ignorant inward looking racist american, with no true grip on the affairs of spain! How did this book get published? "Golden Era Books" clearly is not a seat of academic acclaim. I am genuinely shocked. This book reads more like a tabloid newspaper scandal than a factual history of Spain. Dont buy this book.



5. I am of Spanish descent and I have read many books on Spain, but none as comprehensive as this one. It is easy to read, easy to follow and concise. I would highly recommend it to those who wish a very good short version of Spain's history. It informs the reader with all he needs to know about the history of this fascinating country and its people.
   Lillian Mejia Martin

5 comments about In the Merde for Love.

1. Same old, same old... Too bad I can't give this one the big fat zero it deserves.
   Mr.Clark, si vous n'aimez pas les Français et bien restez chez vous et arrêtez de nous bassiner avec les mêmes conneries! C'est du réchauffé!



2. In this sequel to A Year in the Merde, Paul West has shrugged off the restraints of cooperate France and is now ready to open the first English tea room in Paris. Little does he realize how French he has become himself in the last year. But there is still enough for him to discover about France and the French to make his story a fun read. From his vacances with his lover Florence, to the hands-on work in his tea room, we aren't left out of his thoughts and aspirations; nor his desires when it comes to sex. This sequel is a bit raunchier than the first book and Paul's character felt different to me for that reason. The bumbling, embarrassed Englishman has become a demanding, unapologetic man of middle years.
   After fulfilling his goal of professional success Paul sets out to make his private life shipshape by concentrating on winning back the love of Alexa, the French woman who had stolen his heart in book 1 and who had left him after finding him in bed with another woman.
   I enjoyed reading more about Paul West but there was only one rofl scene in this book for me. I cherish the first book for its sweet and often hilarious helplessness in the face of another culture than your own and I missed that in this second book.



3. I love every one of Stephen Clarke's books. I have never laughed so hard reading. Looking forward to getting his newest. I wish these books would also go to the big screen. Hugh Grant?



4. As always, Clarke seems to be very sex-focused (maybe he's just more honest about it than other guys?) -- but this was a great read, full of laughs.



5. I read A year in the Merde while I was staying in Paris and it was the funniest book I ever read. I had to make sure I wasn't laughing so loudly to wake the neighbors. This book is just a great. It started out a bit slow and I was starting to get disappointed but then it picked up pace and kept the jokes a-rolling. A great sequel in a great series!! Make sure to pick up A year in the Merde first.

2 comments about Frommer's Caribbean 2008 (Frommer's Complete).

1. Of all the travel books, Frommer's are the best. The Caribbean 2008 is a solid book, the information is updated with a number of handy hints. The Caribbean, in general, offers fewer insights than larger countries one can travel so it does not get the highest rating.



2. Purchased both the Frommers and Fodors books (same title). The Fodors book seems to provide more information and in a much more readable format.

2 comments about Good Beer Guide to Belgium.

1. This is THE definitive guide to Belgium beers, this book rates every Belgian beer, gives brewery tour info, beer tourism info, Belgian beer bar reviews, addresses, hours open, and provides essential insights into the history, culture, economics, and marketing of beer. If you are a Belgian beer fan, this book is a fantastic resource. If you are visiting Belgium, this book is an essential companion and constant reference. Can't say enough about this book!! Anyone visiting Belgium should bring this book with them.
   
   Buy this book! An awesome book for a gift or for yourself.



2. With the Good Beer Guide Tim Webb does a superhuman job chronicling the staggering array of breweries, beers, and bars in the Benelux region. I took a trip to Netherlands and Belgium expressly for the beer and for me the book was indispensible. It is organized and indexed very well.
   
   If you are reading this review you are likely at least somewhat interested in Belgian beer and if you are, then you probably can't afford not to use this guide. Not all beers or bars are created equal, even in Belgium. With a limited time and traveler's budget it would be impossible to have savored as many beers as I did without Webb's help.
   
   Because the Benelux countries are among the most pleasant in the world and easiest to get around and travel in, you will not even need a Lonely Planet or Rough Guide--the important stuff (the beer!) is in Tim Webb's book. You can easily find hotels, sightseeing info, and food when you are there, because the region is highly traveler-friendly. However, many of the local beer menus include thousands of offerings and so you can imagine how a guidebook like this might come in handy.
   
   The Good Beer Guide to Belgium will also help you decipher those book-long beer menus and select the right brew for you. With the guide in hand you also might find yourself in towns and villages you never would have visited otherwise, because you were drawn there for a Trappist monastary or a special little bit of brewing history. There are a smattering of other beer guides to the region but none even come close to this one!

2 comments about Scandinavian Europe (Multi Country Guide).

1. good volume as I've found all LP publications to be.........a little thin on Estonia but enough for a day in Tallinn



2. Got this book 7 days after ordering on free shipping. Not too bad, kudos to Amazon. The book is the latest version and includes updated information, though not to a very large extent.
   
   Provide good practical information on National Parks in the region but probably a bit lacking on transportation. It would be ideal if there's listing of popular train routes as I found it in the Russia and Belarus edition.

5 comments about South India (Regional Guide).

1. I ventured to South India, Bombay and Goa, last January, and this book never left my side. As a first-time visitor to the country, I was nervous at first, but the information found in this book helped me to prepare adequately for the trip and navigate my way through this often confusing (but always amazing) country. The guide caters to travelers on a variety of budgets, and offers tips for escaping the white-washed tourist trail to really get a taste of local culture. I would recommend ordering a copy a couple months before leaving- there is much to peruse in the book and region, and it will help you to plan out what you want to see, what you need to pack, and how to get by when the culture shock is hitting hard.



2. This book proved helpful on my recent biycle tour of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh. It's one of Lonely Planet's better guidebooks, however some sights suffer from rushed research. For example, the fort at Gingee--one of India's best--has three sections, but the authors failed to mention the most spectacular of the three. The authors should have mentioned Suchindram Temple, just north of Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu; the beautiful stone temple is famous for its musical columns and 6-meter-tall statue of the monkey god Hanuman. I found the book weak on off-the-beaten-path destinations. I would have liked more information on culture--places to visit and background; if this is your main interest, I recommend that you also check out the Rough Guide edition on South India.



3. i am on my way to India so i hope this book will be thorough but i use lonely planet books all the time to travel and i travel alot.



4. The guidebook does not include all the options or highlights of places but it has sufficient information for your first or second time visit. Very useful opening times and price guidelines!
   ...In fact I found myself returning to South India many times after the first review of this book. Even though these are always business trips I try to get the most out of them spending weekends in the more or less touristic places. Thanks to LP I've even guided some Indians around Chennai and Mumbai!
   Try out bird sanctuaries or Gingee Forts for example - you'll be surprised by the fact there are places in India charming though not overcrowded (and not located in Himalaya). The book does a pretty good job in this field.
   After a while you'll need to search for some more info on the web or in local resources however LP always provides with good ideas and directions for exploring.



5. This product was a tremendous help when I was trying to plan my trips in South India. It does a great job of not only giving maps and historical information of a particular area, but it also recommnends restaurants and hotel accomodations, which is always extremely helpful when you find yourself in an unknown place as a foreignor! I would definitlely recommend this book for both first time travelers and the travel veterans.

5 comments about The Travel Writer's Handbook: How to Write - and Sell - Your Own Travel Experiences (Travel Writer's Handbook: How to Write-And Sell-Your Own Travel Experiences).

1. I really liked this book. The first six chapters are a little hard to get through, but the rest of the book is well worth the effort.

   The chapters on interviewing, what to take with you, and market research are great. I learnt a lot from Zobel, her writing is friendly, helpful and crammed with useful and unusual facts.




2. I read a lot of "how to" guides (trying to find career that I can enjoy) and Mrs. Zobel's is the best so far. She does a great job expanding on the basics and injecting her own personal stories when examples are needed. I re-read the book before every trip so that I don't forget any of her advice. I've already started research on one of my favorite destinations.



3. I am now reading this book again before departing to Italy. I am not exactly a "travel writer", but I need some of the same skills to write and edit my travel website. This book is a tremendous help in preparing for a trip knowing I will come back with the information I need. This books coveres everything from packing to writing. It is very readable and very useful.



4. A couple of years ago, I found a copy of the fourth edition of this book at a library bag sale. I read it cover to cover, devouring each word, and absorbing hints and tips into the molasses of my mind. To this day, some of these have shaped the way I approach my trips, and when I learned that a new edition had come out, I thought that it would make me a good Christmas present.
   
   It's certainly an excellent book. But I found a few faults with it, all but one quite firmly the fault of the publisher. Let me get that over and done with before I continue with the good bits.
   
   Criticisms:
   
   1. There is no index. There should be. There is so much in this book that forcing the reader to re-read each chapter to find one nugget of information, or to take notes, seems very poor. Admittedly my copy is now covered in x marks and orange marker pen, but do you have any idea how far against the grain defacing a book goes?
   
   2. I don't have any idea why, for this edition, there is a co-author. As far as I can see, this is not explained anywhere in the text. I'm not sure what a second author really contributes to the book. A second author certainly doesn't take away from it, but the major difference I can spot is that sentences beginning with "I" now begin with "Louise" or "Jacqueline". I don't get it. A brief introduction or explanation would have been nice.
   
   3. Speaking of introductions, or the introduction, perhaps somebody should have proof-read it? It is quite obvious that someone did a quick and dirty search and replace and made a complete hash of it. Here is the first sentence of the book:
   
   "Although the travel writing profession is seeing some difficult times this spring and summerthese (sic) past few years, this does not, by any means, indicate an end to the power and pleasure of the written wordtravel (sic) related stories."
   
   This, the very first sentence of the introduction, was very off-putting. Howls of derision followed as I found other printed bloopers.
   
   4. While there is a lovely updated chapter on digital photography, not once is my burning question answered: "What do you do when your magazine listing in "Writers Market 20073 says 'send slides/transparancies/prints?'" It would have been so nice to see a couple of paragraphs defining these terms and explaining how to go about handling the requests. The book seemed to assume that everyone would be using a digital camera, which is very nice because I do, but also seemed to assume that everybody who is a budding travel writer has some kind of in-built knowledge of what magazines want, which is not very nice because I don't. This book purports to be the definitive guide to travel writing, and in my opinion that's not something that should be missed out.
   
   So saying...
   
   This book is thorough. It covers all aspects of freelance writing for travel publications. It starts with a heavy emphasis on research: how to do it, where to get resources, what to look for. It covers interviewing: how to find sources and how to interview them. There is an entire chapter on querying, which I found very useful, as well as etiquette and ways to make yourself look professional even when you're a rank newbie.
   
   I found the chapter entitled "being there is never enough" particlarly useful. It covers how to take notes, how to start noticing, and how to make sure you don't forget what you've seen. You are coached in what to bring along and how to handle it, as well as being reminded that some countries have different dress codes and you'd better be looking like the locals if you go there and want to fit it. Travel is about getting in amongst the people, and if you're wearing clothes that scream "tourist" you're never actually likely to get that far.
   
   One key point emphasized over and over again is that you never write "generally"; always, always you must key your writing to a specific audience...and that without marketing, without learning that and working out your own system (I didn't really "get" the author's system as described) you'll never get far beyond "Gee, I want to be a writer." One of the last chapters in the book, and one of the most helpful, lists 25 different types of travel articles to help you a) find your voice and b) get the most mileage out of your existing writing.
   
   There is some information in here about running the business and organizing yourself, dealing with editors and even the ethics of press trips. A little like having your own personal coach, despite my quibbles this book still thoroughly deserves its title as a classic. And it's highly likely that come the seventh edition, this one will be so thumbed over and have so many pages hanging out from constant reference that I'll need to buy that one, too.



5. I have the 2002 edition of the Travel Writer's Handbook (the 5th ed.). While it was updated to include the problems of post 9/11 problems it did not cover the Internet as much as one would expect. And the section on photography is still set in the pre-digital era.
   That said, this is still the best all-around book on travel writing. Zobel covers different article types, how to do basic research,whether to accept freebies, what to take along on trips, keeping records for tax purposes and so forth. She spends a lot of time on interviewing techniques and different ways of capturing the sights and sounds of a travel destination.
   I assume the newest edition (written with a co-author)is meant to bring this classic into the 21st century with references to pdas, laptops, digital cameras and other accoutrements that were hardly mentioned in the 2002 book. But when it comes to the basic elements of writing the travel article--whether for magazines, newspapers or the many travel websites out there--this book is still founded on solid information.