5 comments about PassPorter's Walt Disney World 2008: The Unique Travel Guide, Planner, Organizer, Journal, and Keepsake! (PassPorter).

1. I was planning my family's first trip to Disney. I wanted to get the most out of our vacation, so I purchased 3 Disney travel books: Birnbaum's, The Unofficial Guide, and Passporter's. Passporter's was by far the best!!!!!! It has all the information you need about restaurants (good luck finding much information elsewhere!) and the maps were far superior to the ones handind out by Disney! I had to rip them out of the book to use them while we were in the parks because the Disney ones were hard to follow. It was a priceless addition that helped with our trip so much! Don't hesitate to buy!



2. What a great way to get information and stay organized. Wish this book was available during the last 10 times, I've been to Walt Disney World. It's going to be a great collector's item for my kids. Keep in mind though that you may still need some of the other Walt Disney Books that are available. To list a few: Birnbaum's Walt Disney World Dining Guide, Birnbaum's Walt Disney World for Kids by Kids, Birnbaum's Walt Disney without Kids, Frommer's Walt Disney World & Orlando, The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World and Walt Disney World Resort & Orlando. No matter how many times a person goes to Disney World there's still new information available that will save you lots of aggravation when you arrive in Orlando.



3. When planning our trip I have bought just about every book I could find about Walt Disney World. I have to say that the Passporter is the best. They put just the right amount of information. I found the section called "Feasting" very helpful in choosing the restaurants for my family. Also, I like that it has places to write your itinerary and other info needed such as reservation numbers.



4. If you're heading to Orlando then this book is a must. A friend recommended it and I promise you'll save 100x the cost of this book in $$$ savings and headaches.



5. For all the planners out there, this is the book for you! I have just finished planning my family's first trip and can't imagine how I could have done it without the Passporter. This is a God-send! Don't go to Disney without it!!

5 comments about The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey.

1. A real story, a real adventure, all done by a former President of the United States. Since I slept thru most of my history classes, this book offers great insight into what I've now learned to be one of the greatest men to lead this country.
   
   A very satisfying read and highly recommended.



2. A 54 year old ex-president tries to get out of a funk by planning a trip down the Amazon. Then after the planning is done, on an off-hand remark by a travelling companion, he decides to explore an uncharted river filled with flesh eating fish and alligators, controlled by indians, and dotted with rapids. Only Teddy Roosevelt would have considered this and only Teddy would have survived it. With real stories like this, who needs fiction?
   
   A great read for adventure lovers.



3. Great book. I read quite a few books of this type and this is one of the best. This is a part of Teddy's life I new nothing about. I'm surprised there hasn't been a movie made from it yet.



4. I enjoyed this book of adventure & discovery in the Amazon basin. The events in this story take place less than 100 years ago but what a different world it was then. This story takes place within a year or two of the first people reaching the North & South poles - this is a time of great discovery around the world. Theodore Roosevelt takes one last daring journey in a life that was full of adventure (or in his own words he "had lived the life of 10 men..." ) The journey takes him & his companions on a several month journey down an uncharted river.
   
   Candice Millard does a good job mixing the telling of the story with the background of world events at the time & some interesting details about the people, plants & animals of the Amazon basin. It is amazing how much our world has changed since the events in this story took place. I would recommend this book as a good historical adventure story.



5. I read this while on vacation in Florida, overlooking the Gulf of Mexico. The rain has been torrential. It took little imagination to see myself in a dugout with Roosevelt. A great read in any location.

5 comments about In a Sunburned Country.

1. Funny, funny. I want to travel to Australia during retirement. Cannot wait to go!



2. This funny account of travel in Australia isn't necessarily the greatest of Bryson's works, but it is worth a read! You will find it entertaining, with his usual piercing, sarcastic, and witty insight.



3. Bryson really captures the essence of Australia by detailing his experiences and interactions in different places throughout the country. Using humor or strange conversations, he conveys the attitude and friendly personalities of the the Aussies. While spending long passages describing too many historical details that he might only find interesting, he dives deep into the culture and history of a country most people know nothing about. Seeing as I just moved here, this introduction was perfect to welcoming me here. :)



4. source: http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/b/bryson-sunburned.html
   excerpt: (C) 2000 Bill Bryson All rights reserved. ISBN: 0-7679-0385-4
   It is the home of the largest living thing on earth, the Great Barrier Reef, and of the largest monolith, Ayers Rock (or Uluru to use its now-official, more respectful Aboriginal name). It has more things that will kill you than anywhere else. Of the world's ten most poisonous snakes, all are Australian. Five of its creatures--the funnel web spider, box jellyfish, blue-ringed octopus, paralysis tick, and stonefish--are the most lethal of their type in the world. This is a country where even the fluffiest of caterpillars can lay you out with a toxic nip, where seashells will not just sting you but actually sometimes go for you. Pick up an innocuous cone shell from a Queensland beach, as innocent tourists are all too wont to do, and you will discover that the little fellow inside is not just astoundingly swift and testy but exceedingly venomous. If you are not stung or pronged to death in some unexpected manner, you may be fatally chomped by sharks or crocodiles, or carried helplessly out to sea by irresistible currents, or left to stagger to an unhappy death in the baking outback. It's a tough place.
   
   Oh yes, I read it, also the German version Frühstück mit Kängurus, both several times. And I will have to warn you: First you will read a lot about a lot of things, events and facts you never never knew before, and secondly: You schouln'd read this book in public places (like buses, trolly, metro, libraries etc). You outbursting laughter will make people worried about your well being.
   You will not be able to narrate from this book to your family or as a teacher to your students. At least not continuously for more than 3 minutes. Bill Bryson is not a clown, he is very serious ..... me too.



5. Bill Bryson's take on Australia is hilarious. I'm going there in a few weeks and can't wait to compare my experiences with him. This is a book that will have you chuckling, laughing out loud and then marveling at his insight and sense of humor. A must read for anyone interested in Australia and that part of the world.

5 comments about Do Travel Writers Go to Hell?: A Swashbuckling Tale of High Adventures, Questionable Ethics, and Professional Hedonism.

1. Several weeks ago, I was shocked to hear the news media reporting that Lonely Planet author Thomas Kohnstamm fabricated his research for LP's travel guides and had now written a tell-all book.
   
   Moreover, I was flatly angry. I used the 2005 Lonely Planet Brazil guide which Kohnstamm contributed to for two trips to that country. I even followed his thoughtful (albeit a bit preachy) regimen for "responsible travel" while there.
   
   And now all his contributions to the Lonely Planet Brazil guide were turning out to be a pack of lies? What a jerk!
   
   Needless to say, I simply had to read Do Travel Writers Go to Hell? If nothing else, I felt compelled to read it in order to justify my anger, or perhaps redouble it.
   
   The book wasn't what I had expected. As it turns out, Kohnstamm turns out to be an extremely conflicted guy. His standards are high, but he is disillusioned by the business of travel writing-- its deadlines and budgets in particular. He tries to build himself up as the cool guy who gets all of the women, yet his description of many of them is overwhelmingly sentimental (see the passages on ex-girlfriend Sydney in the introduction, if you doubt me).
   
   So, did Kohnstamm fabricate some of his work? Did he take free meals and lodging? Yes, and yes, although not nearly to the extent that the media has reported. That's right: the press got it wrong!
   
   This guy is no slouch (he has a Master's in Latin American studies from Stanford), but he does let himself become one at various points in the book. Kohnstamm takes us along for the ride, from Rio to Olinda, and various places in between.
   
   You've got to admire Kohnstamm for putting himself out there like this in such a frank way. There's no trite moral story in this book-- just a travelogue which is part confession, part braggadocio and all well written (in Hunter S. Thompson style, no less).
   
   After reading the book, I can't be angry. First of all, I've never laid myself bare like this. Further, how can I stay mad at a guy who puts pictures of his dog on his MySpace page, quotes Paul Theroux and is fascinated with D.B. Cooper?
   
   I still think Thomas Kohnstamm is a jerk, mind you-- but one who I have come to admire greatly through the pages of this book.
   
   It's good to know that travel writers are real people. If nothing else, Do Travel Writers Go to Hell? proves exactly that. Keep writing, Thomas.



2. If i would have listened to all of the Lonely Planet people trying to protect their reputations, and all of the hype in the articles about the book, I probably would not have purchased it. It sounded to interesting though, so I did. It was worth it. The book is entertaining the entire way and filled with characters that may remind you of friends, acquaintances, and some people you hope to never meet. It is the first person story of a man that does what many wish they could do: Leave everything behind and pursue adventure and the unknown. It is an unyielding view of what a travel writer faces, good and bad. It puts what many consider a dream job into perspective.



3. "What kind of a man spends his best years sitting in a chair?"
   
   Kohnstamm has written a book that makes me want to get out of my chair, and toss my perpetually connected work life into the East River, which will make sense when you read this book.
   
   There was a bit of controversy around this book before it came out having to do with Kohnstamm's work on Lonely Planet. The truth, after reading this adventure on the road, is that his writing was a gift to Lonely Planet and the charges of plagiarism were way off the mark. Kohnstamm mixes the reality of writing a travel guide with the experiences of being on the road in Brazil; a place where every day can bring another strange adventure to the open minded traveler. Kohnstamm strikes a balance between drunken hedonism and the details that make each episode ring, hilariously true. This is not only a book about travel and travel writing, it is laugh out loud funny which was a great surprise.
   
   "Do Travel Writers Go to Hell?" made me want to get up from my chair, pack my bags and see what the road has to offer, but I have a cat, a mortgage and a wife that insists upon me working. I will have to settle for Kohnstamm's next book. I can't wait!



4. That being said, I gave it 4 stars because of the endless stories about drugs, sex and alcohol - they grew old after awhile. Although, every time I thought to myself enough was enough I kept coming back to the subtitle. The author lays it bare from the beginning - you don't even have to open the book. Despite this one little hangup that I had, I blew through the book in 2 days. If you have even a passing interest in traveling, travel writing and/or Brazil you will probably like this book. I can easily see why guide book publishers are up in arms over it's contents, but frankly I'm not a guide book publisher and all of the author's misgivings about their "contributions" to the travel industry are spot on as well as his thoughts about the general state of the travel industry as a whole. (I'm not slamming guide books, but you can't ignore the truth in what the author is saying either).
   
   This was definitely a refreshing find in a genera that doesn't see nearly enough new additions in a given year.
   
   Steer clear if you're the type of traveler that likes tourist traps and trinket stores!



5. One word for this book - AWESOME!!! If you can't flee the 9-5, escaping into this author's colorful descriptions of his adventures in travel writing is the next best thing. The story itself is enough to keep one interested, but coupled that with a storyteller who has a true gift for writing, this book becomes extraordinary. I couldn't put this book down. I didn't want it to end. I can't wait for the next one!

5 comments about Oahu Revealed: The Ultimate Guide to Honolulu, Waikiki & Beyond (Oahu Revisited).

1. Our family just returned from a wonderful trip to Hawaii, and can't say enough good things about this guide. We bought three others as well, and abandoned them not far into the planning process. We covered a lot of territory, and saw things we never would have known about otherwise. We did not encounter any problems (or many,if any, other people) accessing these "hidden" treasures. The directions and maps were exactly right, and we found that we nearly always agreed with the assessment of the sites and the restaurants. (We found beautiful homes at great values via the internet and didn't rely on the book for lodging.) Our advice is to buy this guide, and forget the others.



2. With my trip to Hawaii coming soon, Ohau Revealed helped tremendously in finding accomodations and activities. Would recommend this to anyone going to Hawaii.



3. We spent a week on the North Shore, and wanted to really get around the whole island. First, the maps were very neccessary, accurate, and helpful. We'd drive around the coast and the book provided information on almost every stop along the way. The book mentions things that you'd have no clue of, especially cultural information (the birthing rocks, the way a chief used to be buried in sea cliffs, etc). Some of the off the beaten track "gems" they mention, like Hidden Beach on the far north west shore, were not all they cracked up to be, but they were adventures. Anyway, a very useful book!



4. I never do reviews, but this book was so helpful that I thought I would pass on the word. If you are looking to lay on the beach in Waikiki and not leave the city then don't bother, but if you want to see the entire island and really enjoy yourself then this is a must have. I had the book open 3-4 times per day, descriptions and instructions were spot on! This book made our trip 100% more enjoyable than it would have been.



5. This book is awesome. I have a list of places to go and restaurants to eat at and the maps are amazing. This book helped me plan for my honeymoon.

5 comments about Into the Wild.

1. I was very moved by this movie, and the book does highlight some of the things that were missed in the movie. The only thing that really didn't interest me was what the author needed to add his two cents worth, when he was growing up.
   About Chris, it broke my heart, that he really wanted to get back home and the little mistakes that were made prevented him from doing that. What a heartache for his family.
   I had a husband "disappear" and he died in 1987, so I believe I can relate to a "what-if" scenaro.



2. I was taken aback by this book and found it captivating and haunting. I have a son the same age as Chris and debated giving him a copy because its so tempting to sample the taste of tramping while adding huge risk to a young life, but on the other hand see the tempentations of the call of the wlid and how it could call an adventerious young man. The author is supurb at the detail necessary to truly make Chris's actions believeable. This is a book I will think about for a long time.



3. Into the Wild was just great.....I have always wanted to trek and adverture about, but find myself too old and not enought motivation.....Krakauer does a great job again of persuading me to be careful....after reading his into thin air, i wanted to visit everest but just stay at base camp.....



4. WHAT A WASTE OF LIVE AND HURT TO THE ONES LEFT BEHIND.TO GO INTO NOWHERE WITH NOTHING TO SURVIVE WITH...NO REAL REASON FOR THE EFFORT TO GO ON HIS OWN IS EVER FIGURED OUT.LEAVES YOU GOING..WHY???SAD AND DISTURBING.I EXPECT THE MOVIE WIL BE MUCH CHANGED AND ADDED TO ALSO TO MAKE IT WORTH WATCHING..BUT WILL IT BE TRUE TO THE PERSON?



5. Great book. I didn't like that the author dips into his past about how he relates to Chris for a couple chapters. Other than that, I thought it was great and informative.

5 comments about Not for Tourists 2008 Guide to New York City (Not for Tourists: New York City).

1. I'll admit that what drew me to this guide was it's overall design and size: it's compact, dense with information,and laid out in a visually pleasing style. First and foremost, however, a travel guide should be easy to use, and while this book labels itself as "Not for Tourists", it is a travel guide. And here's the thing: it has no unified index. There are several sub indexes spread throughout the book, but you have to find them first, then look for your item. Ugh. Not what you want to do while standing on a street corner.
   
   In order to fit maps into the small page format, a neighborhood can be represented by 4 pages of virtually identical maps dense with visually similar icons showing types of stores, services, transport. etc. Again, not easy to use on the move.
   
   Maybe I can't complain- they did say right on the front: "Not for Tourists", but I advise you to take their word for it. It really isn't useful for the traveler, and I can't say whether it would be useful for a resident.



2. Ordered for my apartment hunting in NYC, will use it late May.
   So far nothing to complain. This booklet is likable by look and usable by content, including all information I could need when walking around the city (shops, banks, theaters, landmarks, schools, libraries, gyms, transportation, you name it). I don't know why some others would complain it's not easy to use, but I will try it out soon by myself.



3. Best guide for business person traveling to City on business. The longer there or more travel in area the better the value. Not for the tourist.



4. I wouldn't recommend this for a first time traveler to NYC as the maps can be a little difficult to follow (broken up into smaller neighborhoods). It was handy to have in our backpack because it had almost every restaurant that we could think of listed in it, along with their phone numbers, address, time they were open to, and a brief comment on the food there (including which places to avoid). If you're from out of town and need to find the nearest branch of your local bank, it's in there. If you're looking for a coffee shop other than Starbucks, it's in there.



5. I purchased this for both NYC and Brooklyn and it's been a life saver. This book tells you where to find the things you need when you live in a city. Laundrymat? Banks? Coffee shop where the locals hang out? History and maps of the neighborhoods? It's all here. Also very small and easy to carry with you. One of my friends who visited for a week, prefered to carry this over the traditional guide books, due to the size.

5 comments about Hungry for Paris: The Ultimate Guide to the City's 102 Best Restaurants.

1. I loved this book, and recommend it to any food lover who is either planning or dreaming about dining out in Paris.
   
   Alec Lobrano is a superb writer and a well-seasoned gourmand, who shares his love and knowledge of delicious French cuisine and great chefs in his own inimitable style. He takes you on a first-class tour inside the best restaurants in Paris as if you were his dinner companion, and lets you taste and experience, albeit vicariously, its finest French and international cuisines and the perfect wines to enjoy with each sampling. .
   
   This book reads like a autobiographical novel, filled with charming, and often amusing, short stories chronicling this world famous gourmet's earliest memories of "eating anything specifically described as French, - the éclairs my mother bought at the A&P supermarket in Westport, CT,... long soggy pastries shaped like hot dog rolls" and "heat-and-serve" frozen croissants, to the canned Vichyssoise , French toast, and beef burgundy stews she made at home, to his savory descriptions of his first experience at age 11, in a real French restaurant, Le Charles V, on the east side of Manhattan, which made him "rabidly anxious to get at some more French food."
   
   Lobrano chronicles his first trips to France with his family and his adolescent awakening to the gastronomic joys of French cuisine, - and the development of his palate as he "ascended the pyramid of French gastronomy and discovered some spectacular food at its higher altitudes," and finding in the end - or at the top of his list - that "it is bistro food, or rustic cooking with deep roots in the various regional kitchens of France, that remains the blessedly eternal bedrock of the French kitchen."
   
   Like a chef, Lobrano describes the ingredients, the preparations, the cooking and serving of the most favored, and simplest, meals of the French people, and also takes us out to dine at the most expensive, moderate, and least expensive restaurants where good French food is always served. His stories about chefs and French celebrities are written with an elegant style of one who has been invited to all the best parties in Paris.
   
   Hungry for Paris is not just a guide book for dining out in Paris, but a veritable masterpiece on the history and culture of French cuisine,
   
   This is a classic!



2. I bought this book for a trip to Paris based on a very positive Washington Post review. I bought it to use as a Parisian restaurant guide; I did not find it very useful at all. It is more like a travel essay than a restaurant guide. If you want to experience Parisian restaurants without actually going there, this book may be for you. But if you are planning a trip to Paris and want a restaurant guide, don't buy this book. The author spends a lot of time describing diners who were at the restaurant while he was there. Also, he includes restaurants whose food he found "good" or merely "better-than-average." I had expected to find reviews of 100 restaurants with excellent food -- after all, there are probably thousands of such restaurants in Paris -- but a lot of the reviews in this guide did not seem to be of restaurants the author recommended. I guess to be fair some of the essays are interesting, but I would have preferred more focus on the restaurants and their food, rather than on the author's experiences in eating at these restaurants.



3. Although I hadn't had a plan to revisit Paris so soon..this book made me want to jump on the next plane and visit quite a number of the restaurants Mr. Lobrano talks about. I delighted in reading his descriptive ancedotes before getting down to the "in a word" and "don't miss". Anyone can write a basic review of a restaurant. Mr. Lobrano's style and voice made me feel like he was speaking directly to me as an old friend, as if he were handing me his personal notes and steering me to the places the average tourist would most certainly miss. If I couldn't be so lucky to have Mr. Lobrano accompany me to dinner, I would most definitely savor his suggestions as if he were my guardian food angel over my shoulder! His creation in "Hungry For Paris" is a masterpiece.



4. I just returned home from Paris and went to three recommended restaurants. They were all great and reasonable despite the sinking dollar. I liked trying the house wines which were a great cross-section of wines I didn't know and now I do! I also stopped ordering bottled water. Loved Astier, Bistro Paul Bert, Le Petit Pontoise. Alexander has a website where he reviews Parisian restaurants www.hungryforparis.com. Check it out, because it's also a great resource.



5. 20 some years ago Patricia Wells' Food Lovers Guide to Paris changed my approach to dining in Paris, but that source has been woefully absent for some time. Hungry for Paris now has pride of place on my travel bookshelf. First, the writing is so good you almost feel like you're there - and you can only read two or three reviews at a time, because you get too hungry. Face it, Paris is wonderful, but it's full of crap restaurants. If you don't know where to go, you have a 96% chance of being disappointed. This book will keep that from happening. There are choices from casual to haute cuisine, and the accuracy of the reviews of the places I've been makes it clear that the book is thoroughly written and trustworthy.

5 comments about Passion on the Vine: A Memoir of Food, Wine, and Family in the Heart of Italy.

1. Forgetting the obvious attraction of learning about Italy and an insiders perspective on magnificent wine, Sergio Esposito tells a story like no other. Pick this book up and you will never again put it down.



2. While I have come to appreciate Sergio's vast wine knowledge by way of his weekly e-Letters (through Italian Wine Merchants), I was intrigued when I heard about Passion on the Vine. Honest, engaging, personable and humorous, it brought me to a new level of understanding about the patience required to appreciate wine, from its production to its later enjoyment (or at least analysis). A passage that has stayed with me is Sergio's interactions with the late, Bartolo Mascarello, a traditional winemaker from the Piedmont region, known for his Barolos. Sergio relays the events with such respect and fond admiration, as the two take in a half-opened bottle of 1978 Barolo. Waiting for the elder's cues for an approval to taste, Sergio is left waiting far longer than he initially anticipated. However, it is over the duration of this exchange (that is so eloquently narrated and moving) that you are, like Sergio in that moment, anticipating Bartolo's gracious admission for a taste. It is also in this moment that you witness Sergio's growth. Powerful stuff.



3. Sergio Esposito is a terrific and engaging writer-it is impossible to put this book down! Filled with humorous anecdotes from his numerous trips to Italy,"Passion on the Vine" will become a must read for all lovers of Italian wine, food and culture.



4. This is a FANTASTIC read!!! Anyone that loves good food, good wine, good friends and/or travel must buy this book! I have forced myself to go slow and savor but much like with a great glass of wine that is very hard to do! Everyone on my gift giving list is getting a copy. One of the best books I have read in a very long time to be sure.



5. If you have any interest in wine, food, travel, culture, history, family, and people as I do, then I recommend you read this book - I enjoyed all of it. Basically, it's a memoir of the author's move from Italy to the U.S. as a boy, and how his interest and love of wine and food inspired him to learn more about wine, open an Italian wine store in New York, and through his travels, continue his wine education.
   
   He describes his travels throughout Italy in quest of the finest wines produced in that country (and the world) and understanding what motivates and inspires the people who make them. Along the way the reader gets taken for the ride through the beautiful wine making regions of Italy, and introduced to some of the iconic figures (some a bit eccentric) of Italian wine making. The author describes in detail his meetings, conversations, and tastings with these producers, and we get an inside perspective of how some of these icons have passionately and steadfastly respected history, terroir, and nature in crafting memorable wines they believe in. You'll visit their wineries, meet their families and partake in meals the author shared with the wine makers. Together they discuss the importance of food and wine pairing, and how, when done well, enhance each other and represent one of the essential aspects of an enjoyable and elevated quality of life.
   
   I imagined myself as a secret participant of the winery cantina visits and mealtime conversations he describes in the book. As a person who appreciates good wine and food, they were absolutely riveting for me as it enabled me to learn more by getting a peek inside the minds of these great wine makers.
   
   When you open this book and begin to read, it is much like a bottle of fine wine that develops and evolves over time. It has varying layers of characteristics that enhance your enjoyment, promote thinking, and will stay with you even as you drink the last drop or read the last page.

5 comments about Lidia's Italy: 140 Simple and Delicious Recipes from the Ten Places in Italy Lidia Loves Most.

1. If you like watching Lidia's show, you'll love this book. The recipes are very earthy and there's a lot more than recipes. She goes into detail about the places in Italy, the history, etc.



2. A MUST FOR ALL COOKS! YOU WILL LOVE HER TASTY, VERY JUST LIKE MOM'S, RECIPES. SHE IS THE BEST!



3. This book is a wonderful resource for Americans interested in cooking authentic Italian food. Organized by region, the book offers classic meat, vegetable, pasta, and dessert dishes for the various cuisines of Italy. In addition to ingredients and instructions, the book offers serving suggestions for each dish, as well as variations. The instructions are clear and detailed; and the ingredient lists, as befit authentic food, are short.
   
   My favorite recipe is from Tuscany, and is for beef braised with peppercorns and red wine. This dish, served with polenta to soak up the juices, has already become a staple in our house.



4. Lidia is my favorite cook. The photographs in this cookbook are
   breath-taking. As usual, the recipes look wonderful. I look
   forward to trying as many as I can. Lidia's recipes are never
   too complicated. Reading this book is "mouth watering" throughout.



5. This book is like a "mini history lesson" about SOME (not all) regions in Italy. And also, this is a cookbook about some of the interesting regional foods mentioned in each Chapter.
   
   Lidia and her daughter Tanya took a tour of some of their favorite regions in Italy (not ALL regions,but SOME regions), for example: Piedmont, Romagna, etc...
   
   Then, Lidia and Tanya wrote this book by describing each of the Italian regions visited, broken down into Chapters. Also, at the end of each Chapter (and there are 10 chapters) Tanya ,who has a PHD from Oxford, added her own personal take on the visits to each region, by sub-categorizing many of the "sights" worth visiting.
   
   Along with the mini history lessons throughout this book, there are many recipes that Lidia has developed, or recipes that Lidia has discovered during her Italian travels.
   
   I think this is a very "different" Italian cookbook, and not your average Italian cookbook seen in most bookstores. Therefore, if you collect a variety of cookbooks (not only Italian cookbooks, but multi-national cookbooks in general) then this book could be a very nice addition to your library.
   
   Many of he recipes would be difficult to reproduce because of "difficulty" levels. To me, some of the recipes did not seem "simple" as stated in the title.
   
   It seems to me that most of the recipes are not for an average or beginner cook. Also, since many of the recipes come from obscure towns that have their own "flavors", I would say that many of the recipes may not appeal to the average taste buds. For example, here are a few recipes that are either too difficult to reproduce by a novice, and/or recipes that would entail an acquired taste:
   
   ~~Farro with Tuna and Tomatoes, p.333
   ~~Anchovy Garlic Dip,p.141
   ~~Pasta with Anchiovi-Onion Sauce,p.108
   ~~Tiella filling of Octopus with Garlic and Oil, p. 250
   ~~Filet of Wild Boar with Prunes and Apples,p.193
   ~~Cooked Duck Sugo with Pasta,p.183
   
   On the other hand, there are a few recipes that COULD be duplicated and enjoyed...(although,some of these recipes are quite "common" and are often included in most Italian cookbooks):
   
   ~~Water Soup, p. p.168
   ~~Asparagus and Rice, p. 11
   ~~Peaches with Almond Crust, p. 118-119
   ~~Tiramisu Limoncello,p. 120
   ~~Chicken Cacciatore,p.301
   ~~Beef Braised in Peppercorns, p. 195
   ~~Braised Pork Chops with Savoy Cabbage, p. 83
   
   The last thing I should mention is that I would have loved to have seen more photos of the recipes,and especially those recipes that are very unusual.
   
   All in all,though, I give this book 4 stars because of it's novelty and because of the interesting mini-history lessons scattered throughout.