5 comments about Birnbaum's Disneyland Resort 2008 (Birnbaum's Disneyland Resort).

1. covers a number of issues about the area that one might not think of and gives excellent advice on covering the park.



2. The book is very helpful in planning a Disneyland vacation. It has information on everything to do there and in the surrounding area.



3. Great book with lots of information for anyone traveling. My nine-year-old son is the biggest fan of the book, he can't put it down!



4. I enjoyed reading this guide. I understand that it is written with a Disney slant but that was what I was looking for. Excellent information is provided. This is a must read for a for time visitor or someone who just wants a refresher on all that Disney has to offer.



5. Very helpful, easy to read, great guide to add to the excitement of getting ready for the trip of a lifetime for us travelling from Australia in October 2008, but also provides you with essential information. Also brought "the unofficial guide to disneyland" which is also very good, but we keep picking up this one because of the pictures and ease of finding information.

No comments about Fodor's Northern California 2008: with Napa, Sonoma, Yosemite, and Lake Tahoe (Fodor's Gold Guides).

5 comments about Over the Edge of the World: Magellan's Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe (P.S.).

1. This book illustrates skillfully Magellan's truly terrifying circumnavigation...
   
   The writing is intelligent, and I enjoyed both the historical adventure vividly depicted and the dreamlike departures from the narration to explanations and historical remarks. It is done with such skill that it does not break the flow of the story itself, but instead gives it more depth.



2. I am admirer of those great explorers of the past and this account of the first voyage of the Armada of Molucca is just impressive. All the courage that these sailors had navigating the unknown, all the miseries and sufferings that they had to endured, their descriptions of the new lands - the strait of All Saints and the spice Islands - make this story a fascinating reading. The author has written a great book about the first voyage round the world, with a precious bibliography.
   
   I had the oppotunity to know the Magellan Strait, even to be in the entrance of the strait, Punta Dungenes, and I recommend it to everyone. The southest parts of Chile are of immense beauty, solitude and great landscapes that makes you remember those explorer and navigators who had crossed the strait in the past. Althought this book does not have a map depicting the magellan strait, I managed to find one in Mateo Martinic's book "Historia del Estrecho de Magallanes", which is included in the bibliography. There you can see the trajectory of this voyage through the strait. Enjoy this book and visit the strait.
   
   Note: this book has also a spanish version, difficult to find.



3. First things first: this history teacher strongly recommends reading this book. Magellan and the early European explorers have long been overlooked - I can only assume due to Politically Correct attitudes among "professional" historians at the university level. Too bad. One does not have to admire everything that Magellan, Columbus and the other explorers did to admire bravery, audacity and the urge to explore that these men displayed.
   
   Positives:
   
   -Bergreen's text is very approachable. He tells the story in a well-paced manner and sets up the political background quite well. His portrayal of Charles I and all of the crises he faced intrigues me so much that I am going to look for a big about him.
   
   -Bergeen uses research resources that have not been used before in a popular work - more information and perspectives is always better.
   
   Negatives:
   
   -Maps. This book has almost none, and the ones included are mostly examples of 16th century map work - they are not in conjunction with the text. Bergreen includes a NASA photo of the Straits of Magellan that I find as indecipherable as an ultrasound. A conventional map would have been so much more welcome.
   
   -Endnotes. Bergreen did a lot of research for this book, but he does not use a single note in the text (I would not let my high school students get away with this oversight). His endnotes are organized by chapter, but this style makes it very hard to tie specific facts with specific endnotes. Also, if you are going to make commentary in your endnotes, be a decent fellow and make them footnotes so the reader does not have to flip back and forth to the end to see your comments.
   
   -Opinion inserted into the text. It is impossible to eliminate bias from a work of history. The simple process of choosing what to include and what to leave out demonstrates that bias. However, several times Bergreen includes gratuitous comments about the commanders of Magellan's fleet after Magellan died. When critical of their choices, he would say things like "it was just the sort of mishap that Magellan would likely have prevented..." (363) and "Not even Magellan would risk taking one, and only one, ship all the way from the Spice Islands back to Spain." (363-4) One cannot know what Magellan would do and it is best to avoid (or at the very least, seriously limit) speculation.
   
   All of that being said, I still strongly recommend this book.



4. This is the third Bergreen book I've read. While all are good and recommended, neither this book on Magellan nor his recent book Marco Polo: From Venice to Xanadu meet the very high standards of his earlier Louis Armstrong: An Extravagant Life.
   
   The lay out of chapters divided every page or so, makes this a faster read than its 400 pages imply. While it's easily readable, it is not totally satisfying. I can't fully identify the problem in separating why this good book (4 star) shouldn't be a very good (5 star) book.
   
   The prose seems to be weaker than that of the Armstrong biography... and having given my copy of Armstrong away, I can't fully or verify this. Like the Polo biography, this kind of travel book should have MAPS. The NASA maps seem to be filler, as though the publisher could not or would not find and label maps that fit the text.
   
   The portrait of Magellan is not consistent. While his navigational skills are unparalleled on this mission, his Christianity is warped. He is burning huts of people who can't even understand his language because they won't bow to his god. This is not insignificant for Magellan, the voyage or the afthermath. Bergreen seems to want to avoid a discussion of Magellan's hubris.



5. Rare five star rating.
   Unbelievable story about Magellan's cruise around the world. Of course, Magellan doesn't survive the three year adventure, but along the way the things he and his crew witness and discover are nothing short of amazing.
   This book is highly recommended.

1 comments about Fodor's Arizona and the Grand Canyon 2008 (Fodor's Gold Guides).

1. This book is easy to follow, wisely laid out and super for details in planning a vacation no matter for how long, a week or a weekend. It is a little scant on hiking trail information like the level of difficulty or actual lengths. It could provide a trail guide, but these are also available on other sites and this book does provide much more than just what a trail guide book would.

5 comments about In Patagonia (Penguin Classics).

1. This is a book on a potentially engaging topic that came to me with high critical recommendation, but frankly didn't deliver. Chatwin's narrative is sentimental and seems in many cases superficial. His observations of the Welsh sheep ranchers seemed focused on insignificant details to the point that one may wonder if Chatwin had ever been diagnosed with autism. I couldn't finish the book.



2. I had never heard of Bruce Chatwin before, but whilst shopping at a used book store, as I held IN PATAGONIA in my hand, my friend said: "Oh, Bruce Chatwin--he's a great writer."
   
   From the moment I picked this book up, I couldn't stop reading it. The short segments worked well for me, I liked the style. I learned so much about the country, its history, and all sorts of interesting characters. This book is a great read, and I went on to read his others.



3. We are preparing to visit South America, so this book is very apt. The author put together a new kind of travel story, weaving imagination with reality. It seems to us that a lot of South American native literature does the same thing. A fascinating insight into life in Patagonia, whether you read it as travel stories or fiction.



4. When I read that Bruce Chatwin had died at the age of 31, I personally grieved as if he had been someone I knew. It is rare to find a book of gentle surprises with wonderful sentences and description, a treat to read, a promise of things to come. But that was not to be. I mourned for what we all lost. There are other books by Chatwin but I like to wonder about all the things he would have written had he lived. Prior to his death he had been in China where he became ill with some tropical disease. He returned home to die, his book on China unwritten, perhaps unplanned. Here are a few of his books: The Songlines, On the Black Hill, The Viceroy of Ouidah. There are more.



5. Chatwin's story of his search to find the skin of a giant ground sloth and the people he meets along the way in Patagonia is a truly different type of travel literature. Rather than a simple travel diary, Chatwin introduces the reader to a number of the different personalities that inhabit this bleak, but beautiful landscape

5 comments about Scotland (revised) (EYEWITNESS TRAVEL GUIDE).

1. I now buy only DK tour books. The photos and drawings are gorgeous; the text is concise, interesting and informative, without being boring. The size is convenient ... the book fits easily into a pocket, purse or daypack.



2. When we decided to go to Scotland, there was no question in our minds about buying the Eyewitness Scotland guide. Having used their guides to London, Great Britain, China, and Russia, we know that what we will read will be really useful to people like us who like to (a) walk and (b) really see things off the usual tourist path. After reading information about the big things to see and do, these guides then give information about neighborhoods and seeing things which might not have occured to you. In the process, you will come across people you would never have come in contact with and seen little known streets and nooks. You might even (as we have) be asked for directions by other people, including local people. In conjunction with the Lonely Planet guides, these are all you need.



3. We used in August . Found it to be of little value. One small example: By chance we visited the Kelvingrove Museum in Glasgow. Truly a "must visit" museum. The guide book (revised version dated 2006) says it is closed for renovation. We were told that it had been reopened in 2005.
   David J. California



4. After borrowing one from the library-we fell in love with this and found nothing but rave reviews. So, we had to have our own for our trip in June. We have not left for our trip yet, but we will be in great hands when we go. It was also recommended by friends who actually lived in Scotland for 2 years-it was their "life line" there.



5. I have bought other books on traveling Scotland and this one is by far the best out of all of them. Full of detailed colorful pictures and suggested sites to visit. Wonderful book to look into!!!

5 comments about A Thousand Days in Venice (Ballantine Reader's Circle).

1. Reading De Blasi's story is like going to Venice in person. Love her comments on italian men and all her recipes that come with the book.



2. In a world of multitudes of choices, Marlena chose the road (or actually, waterway), less travelled. She fell in love with someone she barely knew and moved half way round the world in the process. She opted for the unexpected - an adventure. I chose Marlena's story as my "beach read" this summer and it was perfect. It's quick and light - fun! She didn't weigh her story down with complaints about how different we all are - she chose the language of love (and food) to find commonality - yet she still added charming stories that suggested how Italian lifestyle and priorities are a bit different from Americans. Instead or wondering "what if..." - she did it! What a brave soul!



3. If you are looking for a wonderfully human story of pure delight, this is the book for you... It gives you a real flavor for one of the most romantic cities in Italy.... You can almost smell the food... and feel the puch of the tourists... She is steeped in the Italian experience...



4. I thoroughly delighted in this true story only after getting through the preposterous, high fructose corn syrup sappy, first 20 pages - factual though they may be. Having guffawed, rolled my eyes, and saying out loud to no one, "I am not reading this!" at page 12, weeks later I picked it up with my interest piqued and didn't put it back down until the end. Marlena is an intelligent writer, never wasteful with her perfect words and allusions. She was enraptured with her Italian settings and immersed in them, not distant from their ancient exoticism like so many authors who prattle on with some cold, repeated, textbook authority. I would read anything by her again in a heartbeat. There is purity and security both in her romance and her writing. Actually she is pretty inspirational by simply following her heart, her loves.



5. This book was recommended as a better read than the current best seller, Eat Pray Love. While they are superficially similar, in that both authors love Italian culture, food and the joy of living, this book is more in depth at giving a flavor of Venice and background into Italian culture, through the eyes of an american visitor.
   The author describes the many steps necessary to make the transition as an american into a country with ancient, almost ingrained customs. Her love of Italy, the food and the traditions, comes through with gusto.
   This is also a memoir of an unlikely middle age romance, which is refreshing, even when things don't go smoothly within the marriage.
   As a counterpart to studying Italian conversation and language, this is a wonderful book about Italy and Venice and Italy's people, and what they've survived. I have gone on to read the 2 subsequent books about the couple's travels and adventures in other regions of Italy.

4 comments about John Muir Trail: The Essential Guide to Hiking America's Most Famous Trail (John Muir Trail).

1. This is the new edition of the Morey/Winnett (sp?) book but it's much, much more than that. I've hiked the JMT a couple of times and done a fair amount of hiking in the Sierras. Basically tho I'm a city boy and can't tell one tree from another and know nothing about geology. This book will - I haven't had the chance to hike with it yet - fill in the ignorance and satisfy the curiosity about what I'm hiking past. The author knows her stuff. But, wait, there's a whole lot more. Aside from a large number of GPS coords, more than I've found anywhere on the Web, there's all kinds of info you need to orchestrate your hike - names, addresses, prices, policies, regulations, campsites, side-trip peak-bagging, Harrison maps, informed suggestions - it's all here. One more item - it's only occasionally you read a book that makes you feel the author really worked hard to make it "complete", didn't cut corners, "pushed" when the going got hard - this is one such book. If you're thinking of hiking the JMT or any part of it, buy the book. If you're not thinking of doing the hike, buy the book and discover what you're missing.



2. Wilderness Press continues to update some of their classic guides regularly and this new version of their John Muir Trail Guide is well written with a new author, Elizabeth Wenk. At its heart, the guide is similar to previous editions in giving a mile for mile description of the trail. I found it very accurate for all portions of the JMT that I have hiked. It also includes new features: numerous GPS coordinates for landmarks, updated regulations, appendices listing campsites, mileages, and resupply points, and new topographical maps from Tom Harrison.
   
   All these new features come at a small cost, however, in that the book is more than twice as large as the previous edition, by Kathy Morey and Thomas Winnett. And while you will need these new features in planning your hike, they are less important on the actual trail. Backpackers trying to save space and weight have a couple of options. One is to simply tear out the sections of the book you will be using. You hardly need the classic South to North directions if you are hiking the other way. Another is to use this edition for planning, but to get one of the older editions for the actual trip. These can be found here (1998) or here (1986). But this book is still worth purchasing. Having it will improve your odds of completing the trail and dramatically increase your enjoyment of it as well.



3. The previous version of this book was, I believe, considered to be the definitive JMT book, and this new version must be also. In it are all the details anyone attempting or thinking of attempting the John Muir Trail will need to know; what clothes to take, which food is appropriate, permits needed, bear information, a guide to the flowers of the area, history of the trail, geology, directions and even maps and a list of possible campsites. In fact, details are the thing about this book - it's ram-jam with them, and I couldn't think of any detail that I'd like to know that wasn't covered (I've hiked the trail once)!
   
   This is a guidebook for those intending to hike the trail, not an account of someone's experiences, but even so it must get even the most couchy potato interested in getting out and walking! I did find the referencing of the sections and maps a little confusing, but it's a small point. And it might be a little large too, so I'd probably elect to photocopy parts of it, or rip out sections to take on the trail.



4. Haven't hiked it yet, but this book gives the most comprehensive look at the JMC, both North bound and South bound. The reason I bought this book was because it gave details on both directions. It doesn't give you a daily guide because it knows that each person will have his or her own pace. The only thing I didn't like is that it spends too much time describing fauna and not the trail.
   It is also meant to be a trail companion and to be read on the trail. Why? If I'm on the trail why do I need to read about it? Some of the detail is useless unless you are right there looking at it. However, the description of the trail and the maps are valuable (I especially like the elevation maps given for each section)
   It also gives very important information on how to get to the trail, permits and where and when to get them along with some great mileage charts.
   
   Great book for on the trail, a good book for preparation.

3 comments about Road Map to Holland: How I Found My Way Through My Son's First Two Years With Down Syndrome.

1. This book was just stunning! Jennifer has a way of infusing the reader into her life. I felt like I was there, experiencing it with her. She lays it all bare, herself, her perceived faults and how she dealt with the premature birth of her twins and Down syndrome diagnosis of Avery. What comes across is a very spiritually put together person, a woman who truly knows what matters most at the end of the day.
   
   This book is a gift to the world.



2. It is almost impossible to give fitting praise for this superb book by Jennifer Graf Groneberg. I don't know where to start. Groneberg has been blessed with the rarest of gifts as a writer: She is a brilliant wordsmith, an accomplishment in and of itself; yet she is also so beautifully human in her story telling. She is strong, vulnerable, scared, hopeful, flawed, honest, loving, doubtful, humble, and confident. She is all of us. We are with her in the NICU, as she receives the news that her middle son has been diagnosed with Down syndrome, at home with her as she adjusts to her new future, in the lake with her as she imagines that "nothing good" will come her way again (she of course proves herself gloriously wrong), at Avery's physical therapy appointments where her heart breaks and rejoices at the same time as she observes how extra hard her toddler son must work for the smallest of victories. She is not above sharing with us that among some of the unwelcome comments and feelings offered by strangers about her son are also some of her own. She exposes herself so honestly; the lows as eloquently described as the highs. Her style is spare but not simple, without an ounce of pretension or preachiness. You will finish the story with joy and hope in your heart, and a deep sense of admiration and love for this family who, at the end of the day, isn't so different from yours or mine.
   
   Don't pass up this ticket. Groneberg has invited us along for this extraordinary part of her journey, and I can only hope that there will be many more stops in the future where we can climb aboard and join her.



3. If you are an expectant mother of a child diagnosed with Down syndrome, or the new mother of a newly diagnosed child, or a friend or a family member, get your hands on a copy of this book. You will find no better guide to your journey than Groneberg, who is a gifted writer: honest, loving, self-aware and simply the finest company a reader could ask for.

5 comments about The Journals of Lewis and Clark (Lewis & Clark Expedition).

1. I recently took a college class about the hidden history of the West--and it was a great class, one of the best ever--but one of the books we read in there was all about the Native American perspective of the Lewis and Clark expedition and while it was interesting to hear that take on the subject, I couldn't have been more at odds with the discussion that followed, most of which had to do with the low characters of the men of the expedition, the subversive agenda behind it all, and the thought that the world would have been a better place if the entire undertaking had never taken place.
   That's because, to me, there has never been anything cooler than the Corps of Discovery, than the journey West, than Lewis and Clark and their whole ragged crew.
   Actually, I take that back: the journals they kept...those are even cooler.
   From Lewis's insightful reflections, to Clark's lyrical descriptions, to their hilariously bad attempts at spelling, to the thought of moving unknowing into America at its most pristine, these journals have it all. This is the quintessential American adventure story, an amazing account of men against the unknown. This edited collection of the journals, well-compiled by Bernard DeVoto, is one of the greatest things I have ever read, and ever since reading it, I have had an undeniable love for Lewis and Clark, and for their expedition.
   Words fail me, but they didn't fail these guys, because here is the West of 1803, vividly rendered for us all to see today. When I first read these in 1999, they convinced me to move into the wild, onto the water, and I spent seven months afterward living out of a canoe...keeping a journal of my own.
   If you haven't read these journals, do yourself a favor, and do so now: read them. DeVoto has already made it easy for you, by picking out all the most interesting parts, and by putting them in context with a well-written introduction. You need this book, and you may not even know it.



2. This work has been edited for the general reader. Many entries have been considerably shortened in the hope of gaining a wider public. For the most part only the highlights are kept, being the actual journal in its full version is so extensive. Most of the original punctuation's and spellings are kept (this gives it a feel of nostalgia). There is repetition. But this, I would think would be impossible to overcome. DeVoto has "produced a straight forward text which could be read without distraction".
   
   The introduction is lengthy; discussed are: the importance of the Louisiana Purchase; the history and purpose leading up to the exploration; earlier expeditions, such as Thompsons' and Mckenzies'; and Lewis' and Clark's background. This was said of these two great men: "The two agreed and worked together with a mutuality unknown elsewhere in the history of exploration and rare in any kind of human association", and "Ingenuity and resourcefulness [by Lewis and Clark] in the field are so continuous that a casual reader may not notice them".
   
   Each chapter is identified by the author whose journal it is taken from, such as Lewis, Clark, Biddle, Orduray, and others. The journal writings have been left as original, giving it that early America mystique. On the 14th of May, 1804, 32 men embark in search of a trade route from the Atlantic to the Pacific:
   
   Dangers lurk around every curve. Indian, grizzly, and immense animal herd encounters are prevalent throughout the journey. To think of the rich bounty contained in the wilderness of the past is beyond comprehension. With leadership that is both strong and wise, Lewis and Clark take this large party of men on a blind epic journey. And on looking back, it was relatively safe. The treatment of the Natives is to be commended, even though many tribes were untrustworthy and warring to other Nations. Trade with the Indians was essential if they were to survive. Also recorded were observations and behaviors of the different tribes. A few of these tribes possessed a huge wealth in horses. Lewis and Clark's party purchased these horses both for traveling overland (which I was never aware) and for food. They did not seem to be displeased with eating horse-meat, dog or roots, which they bought and traded for. The days spent on the Pacific coast were to be the most miserable. The medical remedies used were almost comical; some that were proved beneficial have since been lost through time. The journey ends over 28 months later on the 25th of September, 1806.
   
   I don't know if we can understand completely, how important this expedition was for our country. The undertaking involved in putting this book together from the hundreds of pages of numerous journals is truly amazing. And finally: Appendix I contains Jefferson's instructions; Appendix II is the personnel (32+); and appendix III is the list of specimens brought back.
   
   Wish you well
   Scott



3. I would use one word to characterize this work: Timeless. To relive the great expedition through the words of Lewis and Clark themselves is a fantastic experience. I think that most people who enjoy American history will love this book. People who are not inclined to read or enjoy historical non-fiction might find it tedious (such as students forced to do so for class assignments), as it is long and detailed.
   
   I previously read Ambrose's "Undaunted Courage" (which itself is excellent), which contains many passages from these journals, but the journals themselves are unsurpassed.



4. I read books in a wide variety of topics. I decided to read about Lewis and Clark because I felt I just did not know enough about it and I felt that I should. When I received the book, I opened it and was fearful that I made a mistake because it was made up of journal entries, day by day in Lewis and Clark's own words. I started reading and I found myself immmediately engrossed in the story. I mean immediately. You can read the letter from Jefferson containing the instructions and mission of the expedition- just fascinating. Then you get the story of the expedition, day by day, straight from the horses' mouth. I could not put this book down. I could not stop talking about it. I used Google Earth (so cool!!!) to follow the Missouri River into the Rockies, across the mountains, finally to the Columbia to the Pacific and then back. Canoeing up rivers, down rivers, fighting bears, trading and smoking with indians, fighting with some indians, at times overheated, at times freezing. Surving on the land with strategy and forethought. I learn an incredible amount of information about that time in our country's history. I was blown away. And the greatest part, I had to keep reminding myself of, is that it was absent all of the politically corrected revisionism we read today. This story is straight from them. They are sitting down at night and recording what they experienced in 1804 (05-06). Those notes are delivered to you via an author Bernard Devoto who uses only the most relevant parts of the journals (leaves out the volumes of strict scientific research data). Then, when he has to make the occasion insertion of a letter or two to make sure a misspelled word is not misinterpreted, he gives very clear instruction on how he has denoted the change. He also, upon occasion will give a summary of events, or a note of interest.
   The end result is a splendid story, rich in historical information, written by the men who lived it, about one of the most important events in our country's history. I leave you with this excerpt, logged Sunday August 18th, 1805 by a man who is in the middle of the American West, where no white man has tread before, trading and smoking with Indians, shooting bear and deer to survive, canoeing upriver for 2000 miles;
   "This day I completed my thirty first year, and conceived that I had in all human probability now existed about half the period which I am to remain in this subluminary world. I reflected that I had as yet done but little, very little indeed, to further the happiness of the human race or to advance the information of the succeeding generation. I viewed with regret the many hours I have spent in indolence..."



5. I am not an accomplished reader so it has to really hold my attention to finish a book. This book is written exactly from L&C's journals. Lots of mispelled words and some confusion. Sometimes hard to follow. Sometimes the minute details are a bit much. They don't really expound on things. I guess what they go through on a day to day basis is somewhat mundane at times. Overall a decent read IMO...I wouldn't get it again if I knew what I know now. Oh well. Enjoy!