5 comments about Guide to Colorado Backroads & 4-Wheel Drive Trails, 2nd Edition.

1. This is the absolute best guide to Colorado Trails I have ever seen. The explanation of each trail is very good and the directions precise. The book gives you the areas on the trail that will be more difficult, places to see and things to do along each trail, and practical advice from someone who has actually been on each trail. The book is divided into geographical sections so you can really plan your trip around whatever area you are visiting. Whether you are wanting easy going family trails in your stock SUV or hardcore driving in a fully outfitted rig, this book should be your companion.



2. This book is the best trail guide that I have been able to find. I use an ATV as most of the trails are open for ATV's. The descriptions of the trails and directions to navigate the trail have been excellent. The distances to the turn points have been accurate. Mr. Wells is now writing books especially for ATVs and I can't wait.



3. I've lived in Colorado since 1989 and have spent an unbelievable amount of time in the mountains here. I purchased the first edition of this book at a little gift shop at the top of Monarch Pass, gave it a permanent home in my Jeep, and I haven't looked back since. It's a fairly pricey book, but given the accuracy of the information contained within, not to mention the time and effort it takes to amass that information, it's worth every penny and then some. Mr. Wells has driven every trail personally, and the maps, presumably created from a fusion of USGS maps and personal observation are very clear and useful.
   
   Apart from the individual trail guides, which are laid out cleverly using Colorado's ski slope difficulty symbols (green circle for easy, blue square for moderate, black diamond for difficult), there is a lucid and very in-depth introduction as well. This isn't a couple of hastily written paragraphs admonishing you to use caution and get out there and have fun, but rather a nearly 20-page essay on how to be a safe, conscientious, and well-informed backroad and trail driver. It's very useful and relevant information, thoughtfully and intelligently presented.
   
   Bottom line: If you plan to explore Colorado's wonderful backroads and trails, buy this book, period. Give me this book, my GPS, camping supplies, food and drink, and my camera, and I could happily wander the Colorado Rockies in my Jeep for weeks!



4. My wife and I went on vacation in Colorado and rented a Hummer to drive around in. I took this guide with us and we went on several adventures with it! It is pretty good, though some details were lacking and some trails hard to find. Overall, a great guide to seeing some back country in CO!



5. A must have book if you are planning to 4-wheel or jeep these trails. Very helpful GPS waypoints included that can be used with your GPS to mark & find highlights along the trails.

5 comments about Frommer's Buenos Aires (Frommer's Complete).

1. I never like dining suggestions in Frommer Travel Guides. The very best are expected, quality food at high prices. But their best values are usually not the best values in that respective city/country. What I did like from this book was the side trips, which I highly recommend. Particularly nice was my buquebus trip to Colonia, Uruguary. I went in the winter and it was very scenic and a nice contrast to Recoleta, the neighborhood where I ended up renting an apartment in Buenos Aires.



2. Blah. How in the world did this get 4.5 stars? Not well laid out which make it dense and difficult difficult to read. You can get better and of course fresher information searching the NYT. And no introduction of practical stuff - one of the only entries on crime is where one of the Bush twins had her pocketbook lifted. I lament the end of the great Access guides.



3. 
   The trouble with travel books like Frommer's is that they don't tell the negative side as thoroughly as they do the positive. That's why I like Rick Steves' European guidebooks. He is opinionated and quick to tell both sides of the story.
   This Frommer's book on Buenos Aires was useful on our trip last week but did not discuss how massive and basically filthy and jammed with traffic the city is. The sidewalks were littered with broken pavement, garbage and dog droppings, even in the best of neighborhoods.
   In one section, Frommer's relates a day trip via ferry to nearby Uruguay; it made it sound as if one were visiting the Magic Kingdom. In truth, it was just a few streets and shops; certainly not worth the trouble.
   There was no warning about counterfeit Argentine currency. Apparently color laser printers are pretty common down there because there are plenty of homemade 20, 50 and 100 peso bills that look perfect to the untrained eye. A warning would have helped here.



4. I really felt like the book helped give me a great glimpse into the culture of the city and its nearby areas. The information on the nearby sidetrips to San Antonio De Areco is also excellent. I stayed at a horse ranch based on a recommendation in the book, and it was a phenomenal travel experience.
   
   James



5. Would be better if there was more information on hotels, but in general, a good book

5 comments about Coming into the Country.

1. We bought this book in Nome, Alaska on a visit there in 2001 (my brother owns a flying service there). I took my time reading it the first time. Coming into the Country is not a book to be read quickly, but, rather, one to be savored, taking time for the details to seep into the crevices of one's memory until they become part of one's knowledge base. Every page holds a vast amount of information that if read too quickly blurs to nothingness and is lost.
   
   McPhee's descriptions of the land, its rivers and mountains, its challenges, its beauty, and its people are thorough and draw the reader into the pages of his book. It takes a certain kind of person to survive in the Alaskan bush. I, for one, am drawn to its splendor, its starkness, its fearsomeness, but am sure I don't have the right stuff to live there long term. The river people and others, who thrive in communities like Eagle and Central (even Fairbanks and Juneau), have remarkable stamina and a strong determination to live the lives they choose in their respective settings, all of which are breathtaking in their beauty. McPhee also writes of the tension between the races (Indian and white)and the human dynamic among community members (the good and the no-so-good)that always accompanies the sharing of space and resources.
   
   Over the past five years, I've picked up CITC now and then to re-read parts of it. Most recently, I re-read the whole of Part III Coming into the Country. This is my favorite section because it focuses on the bush and its people, most particularly on Eagle, Alaska located on the Yukon River and just across the International Boundary from Canada's Yukon Territory. (Incidentally, the term "coming into the country" refers to the arrival of a person into the Alaskan bush with the intent of staying. I may move from Michigan to Ohio or New York or California, but, if I go to Alaska, they call it coming into the country. "Brad Snow and Lily Allen came into the country in 1973." "Joe Vogler came into the country in 1944." "John Borg came into the country in 1966" (and he's still there. Check out the Eagle site. Borg has worn many hats in Eagle and still sits on the board of the Eagle Historical Society and Museum. Borg's wife, Betty, is the board's treasurer).
   
   The original copyright on this book is 1976, thirty years ago. The growth in technology since that time has allowed almost every municipality to have their own website. Eagle is no exception. [...]
   
   Carolyn Rowe Hill



2. I traveled to Alaska in 2006 but lived there in the early 70's. Why I delayed so long in reading "Coming into the Country" I don't know, but John McPhee has taken me back to that earlier day. Both his character and place descriptions are wonderful and make me long for the cabins, the ice break-up, the dogs, the bush planes, and the 55 gallon drums. The Anchorage of today is much changed, but the bush is still there -- Thank God.



3. Want to read about the realities of the 49th state????
   Want to really learn something about this region???
   Want to get good visuals????????
   If NOT don't read this book!!!!!!!!!!!!



4. This book is a wonderful relic, the last plausible vision of a living American frontier. In the mid seventies, McPhee went to Alaska to do a few pieces for the New Yorker. He met a lot of trappers, prospectors, and "river people" who'd built moss-chinked cabins and whose individualism, gruff hospitality, and happiness he admired. McPhee made a plea for democratic access to Alaskan land. He argued that land far from roads should remain fair game for homesteaders in perpetuity.
   
   It is odd to read an ode to Alaska's wild immensity at a time when islands are being evacuated in the Aleutians, polar bears are drowning, and the permafrost is melting. The question these days is not whether Americans can still choose to live in more or less untainted outback. The question is whether that outback will soon be transformed beyond recognition, not by oil drilling, but by climate change.
   
   What Coming into the Country offers the twenty-first century is escapism and nostalgia. McPhee's account of the political squabbles over the location of Alaska's capital has lost its relevance, but the rest of the book still comes to life. We meet a mix of clannish Christians, proud native people, and prickly bootleggers in the small, dry town of Eagle. McPhee's tale of a man's survival in sub-zero weather after a plane crash constitutes a minor classic of its own.
   
   The book reminds us how powerful the frontier fantasy remains in American psyches. Can it be harnessed as a metaphor? Can the dream of self-reliance on a private patch of woods help motivate us, indirectly, to cut carbon emissions? It has motivated us to go camping and conserve some wild lands even while ruining others. Still, I suspect that as the environmental movement shifts in response to global warming, we may have to jettison the frontier fantasy. It depends too much on a view of nature as more powerful than man. Whether or not we agree with Bill McKibben that we have arrived at the end of nature, we know that everything is responding to elevated temperatures. There is no untouched patch of land left in Alaska. The romance of a homestead sours when the flora and fauna are marching north past the log cabin, driven by coal and oil fires from all over the planet.



5. My wife and I like to listen to a tape while we read the book. We are rereading this book that way. It is a classic and a good introduction to Alaska, where we have lived and worked and touristed.

5 comments about Tales of a Female Nomad: Living at Large in the World.

1. "Rita introduces the normal housewife and career woman to the nomadic lifestyle. Her choice to leave a lavish world of Hollywood parties and famous friends for a backpack, muddy flipflops and no how-to map for foreign travel was to say the least, CRAZY. But it works. It is encouraging, exciting, uplifting and inspiring. Couchsurfers of the world will embrace this novel. "



2. Interesting places and I really wanted to like this book. I love inspirational books about adventerous, unconventional females! But the author was so self-absorbed that I had to force myself to finish it, and I did so with increased annoyance and anger.
   
   Everything revolved around her and what she can take from people. Everywhere she went, she expected freebies, special treatment, and go-to-the-head-of-the class opportunities. And she always got them by men who rescued her and solved all her problems, offering her food, shelter, transportation, companionship, most of the time while insisting she go out with them to boot. One even said "maybe wife die and we marry"!! When she was not able to get onto a flight that had a very long waiting list, she said she was just trying to figure out "how to get around the system" (WHY does she feel special enough to feel she can get around the system???), when lo and behold - of course a man miraculously appeared and solved all her problems - even ahead of missionaries who were there to help hungry people.
   
   The author, who seemed to be in a full-blown mid-life crisis, seemed to create this new life and title (Nomad) for herself to flag a sagging ego and career. However it somehow seems wrong to go to these countries with only an agenda of her own. Her other foot is firmly planted in her independently wealthy safety zone with no real desire to offer any long-term assistance to these people she took so freely from. It would have seemed way more valid if she had been a Peace Corps volunteer, but then I suppose it would not have appealed to her had she been one of a group of many, and to not be able to be such a novelty and queen bee. It also would have been nice to hear that she chose to direct some of her royalties from her experiences to these countries as well, especially the starving children she speaks of but does nothing to help except offer English lessons.
   
   And what is with leaving her mother and kids? I feel that there is a time and a place for everything and when we have responsibilities on the home front, those must come first before our own whims. Her kids were only around 20 and certainly still needed some normalcy; and the treatment of her sickly mother is appalling!! OK so she hired a woman to live in and take care of her - and that woman had family and they all became one big happy multicultural multigenerational family..I'm sure the mother was just "thrilled" with that while battling sickness and old age. And one of the most egotisical things of all was when the author claimed that the mother actually timed her death to the author's advantage.
   
   When she moves to Canada and Seattle, again she places herself as the recipient of everyone's charity as all of her MANY friends (she painstakingly lists them all MANY times) scramble to furnish her living quarters since she only had a bag of clothes and she wanted to do LOTS and LOTS of entertaining with her many, many friends.
   
   This is a woman who likes to hold court, be the center of attention, and I suspect that is the motivation for all of her "nomadic" activities in a "Wow! Look at me!" kind of way. And that continual bragging makes for some pretty boring reading.



3. It is very likely that I will not be a world traveler till I am much older since I have two little ones still at home. But that doesn't mean that I cannot enjoy another's travel stories. This one is full of stories, but it is lacking in some respect. I was expecting a little bit more information on the cultures of the people that the author has talked with and perhaps a little bit more on the politics of the countries she has traveled.
   
   Rita Golden Gelman finds herself at a crossroads in her life where her marriage fell apart and her children have left the nest. She takes a trip to Mexico to figure out what she wanted to do with the rest of her life. She decided to be a world traveler and visit the places she has always wanted to see. She did not want to travel the normal touristy routes, so she chose to see the back regions of countries that she has only heard of or read of. Her first place was in a Zapotec village and thus the wanderlust was developed.
   
   The places that she visited seem to be so remote and so far away. It was so much fun to read about different places that I'd love to go someday. However, I am questioning one thing. If some of the places that she has revisited have taken a downturn in economic woes, why didn't she bring back food that might actually help the people that she claims to love? I understand that people give gifts better than accepting, but still, couldn't she have found a way to distribute powdered milk for kids who need it? It's just a thought.
   
   Also, I am not sure if I think she is blessed to have so many friends where she can borrow their houses temporarily or if she is a moocher. Maybe she is the combination of both. Another thing that does disturb me in this book is her lack of responsibility in taking care of her mother in her last days. There are quite a few things in this book that makes me question her decisions, but it is her life.
   
   This is an armchair travel book and while I didn't agree with everything in this book, it is well-written and the travels are fascinating, even if she is a bit self-absorbed. (I have yet to read a memoir where the author isn't self-absorbed, other than "Glass Castles by Jeannette Walls and "The Three Dog Life by Abigail Thomas.) The author has whetted my appetite to see New Zealand and learn more about that country, more than any other country that she has mentioned in her book. The descriptions of food are beyond belief. I am not a fan of Thai food but sure wish I could eat some right now based on her descriptions. And she does provide some interesting insights to different people of different cultures, even though she admits at the end that she's always weaving something and loving it at the same time.
   
   So if you like to travel, this book is great for you. You won't be able to put this one down.
   
   6/22/08



4. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Not only is the author's unique path in life inspiring, but the experiences described are a much more intimate look at people from other cultures than what you typically find.
   
   Gelman forms relationships with the people she meets - mainly because she lives among them and isn't traveling as a tourist.
   
   Even if you don't end this book wanting to buy a backpack and a one-way ticket to anywhere, this book will remind you that people are the same everywhere, just the clothes, customs, and food are different.
   
   I had to edit my review after reading some of the surprising comments about Gelman's ego/arrogance, America-centric viewpoint, etc. The jaundiced tone of these reviews doesn't gel with my impression of the book - or of the author.
   
   I was fortunate to meet Rita recently and found her very down-to-earth. A group of us had a delightful lunch, talking, asking, listening. As for the criticism that the book is very America-centric in its assumptions about the rest of the world, I don't see it. Gelman is very respectful of other cultures, exactly what most Americans abroad are not.
   
   And my favorite section of the book was Bali...the section of the book that seems to have received the most negative comments. I was completely drawn in to the story of those years.



5. Other reviewers have summarized the book's premises, so I'll just add my perspective.
   
   I was blown away by Rita's ability to handle herself in all sorts of situations. Living with someone else's family is tough under the best of conditions. Rita lives in rooms, shacks and houses. I'm trying not to think about the bathrooms. She eats whatever she's served.
   
   Rita doesn't spare herself when she describes her mistakes and missteps as she makes her way from one place to the next. She doesn't just present a travelogue: she shares her own identity questions, especially in the chapter on Israel.
   
   What I got from this book is: You have to be a very special kind of person to go on this type of journey. Rita seems to have a low need for solitude and privacy.
   
   Eat dinner alone? No way. She looks for people. I felt a little embarrassed when I read about her first efforts to connect with others.
   
   Finding herself alone in Seattle, she heads to REI for shopping. Shopping? Seattle is filled with bookstores, libraries, museums and just beautiful places to walk. But I can see wanting to take part in the quintessential American shopping experience.
   And REI is a landmark.
   
   Bottom line: Rita is one of the most other-oriented people we'll meet in a book. She loves being with people and she has a gift for getting others to help her. I don't think she's manipulative - just naturally friendly and authentic. Life coaches would say she's a natural attractor.
   
   That's the kind of person you need to be if you're going to explore other cultures from the inside out. I read somewhere that he best Peace Corps volunteers are those who can enjoy the present moment.
   
   Besides a gift for people, Rita's got two amazing kids. She says they missed having her around while she was adventuring, especially in the early years. I say, "Too bad!" Who wouldn't want a mom like this one? What a role model and sometime travel partner.

5 comments about The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion: The All-Purpose Baking Cookbook.

1. If you're a serious home baker, you need to have the King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion in your collection. Containing foolproof recipes, step-by-step guides, delicious variations, and numerous illustrations, it will walk you through simple baked goods such as pancakes to homemade pie crusts (not as scary or difficult as you might imagine), sourdough starters, Parisian pastries, and sweet and savory pies, tarts, and quiches perfect for any occasion.
   
   Please note that this King Arthur cookbook covers white flour recipes. If you're more interested in experimenting with healthier whole grains, then by all means pursue King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking: Delicious Recipes Using Nutritious Whole Grains. I actually purchased the whole grain book first, and then bought the Baker's Companion as a companion book.
   
   Winner of the prestigious James Beard Award, this is just as appropriate for a beginning baker as an experienced homemaker; numerous tips on metric conversions and European oven temperatures, yeast breads, and a very thorough ingredient glossary discussing various grains, types of wheat, and tools.
   
   As for the recipes, they're as simple or as challenging as you want to make them. Example: looking for a quick and easy pancake? No problem, try the Simple But Perfect Pancake. Looking for a more elegant presentation? Try the Lemon Ricotta Puff-Pancakes with Vanilla-Scented Sauce, Blinis, or Parisian Crepes. French toast, fried doughs, quick breads, muffins, scones and waffles are also discussed at length.
   
   Also included is a comprehensive chapter on crackers and flatbreads, cookies and bars, and cakes (including cheesecakes). Nutritional analyses are also included for each item (minus variations). Clear instructions and hints help make even first-time recipes (and bakers) foolproof.
   
   A wonderful housewarming gift, or a gift for yourself, The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion is a book that you'll find yourself coming back to again and again.



2. If you like to bake, whether out of necessity or for fun, this book is good stuff. I like to use it for fun recipes to make with my kids, and it is almost fool-proof. I would know.



3. Made great popovers and crepes for first time...both came out perfectly. I took their advice and got a kitchen scale...made a huge difference in outcomes.



4. A culinarys arts teacher highly recommeds this King Arthur book. It shipped quickly and was packaged well.



5. I love my cookbook that I received. It was what I expected it to be and more. It came in a timely manner.

5 comments about Holy Cow: An Indian Adventure.

1. What else would you come to expect from a hippie who views India as a cesspool of drugs and other ways to get high?
   The sad part is, its morons like this author who use India as an emotional dumping ground and have the gall to complain about a culture that is rich. Ofcourse, we have our own challenges of corruption, greed, crime, by that arguement which country doesn't have? But to be stereotypical of this is not right, as it can have unintentional repurcussions.
   For example: I remember watching the movie 'Midnight Express' and thankfully i had some turkish friends who set right my understanding and the inherent flaws the movie had about life over there.
   
   This book comes of at best as a silly representation of what life is over in India. Yes, there were some chapters and situations that were amusing, but the simple part is, make an attempt at better research of understanding our culture.
   not surprised that this person is australian.
   
   Garbage: 2 stars.



2. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Sarah has a quirky sense of humor that explores India in all its contrasts and contradictions. Like Sarah, I also have a background in psychology and I appreciated her interest in trying to understand why people are the way they are. For instance, through personal exploration she tries to discover why people are attracted to various religions and the role these practices and beliefs play in their lives.



3. I've re-read this book about 5 or 6 times and each time found something different to enjoy. Ms. MacDonald is an engaging writer and her journey of understanding India (and Indians) will keep you reading until the last pages.



4. I was looking for a lived-there book and this one is it! Fun, serious, always insightful observations shared by the author--who does not take herself seriously.



5. I'm a prolific reader and there are only a handful of books I've started and not bothered to finish. "Holy Cow" is one of them.
   
   MacDonald spends a lot of time describing how awful she found India, how little she thinks of Hinduism, and how WONDERFUL her WONDERFUL career in WONDERFUL Australia was (who outside of Australia has ever heard of her or her WONDERFUL work on Australian radio?) -- but mostly what she does is whine about how nothing on earth meets her rather adolescent standards.
   
   I gave up after 100 pages of her tedious complaining.

5 comments about Swahili: Lonely Planet Phrasebook.

1. I had this guide when I went to Kenya, and I highly recommend it! It was very useful when I got very ill and needed to explain to a Swahili speaking doctor what was wrong with me. I also used it when I'd go to the Masai Markets and I always got a much better deal when I'd barter in Swahili. The Kenyans can speak English, but they appreciate it when you try to speak to them in Swahili.
   
   I loved this guide so much I am buying copies for the members of my family who will be joining me for a holiday in Kenya this coming year.
   
   It's an absolute must for any traveler!



2. This small hand-sized book is an excellent resource. Sections are seperated by practical categories (like food, social, and practical). Very easy to read, and really has everything you would need to get around.



3. This course to teach yourself Swahili is easy for anybody - all you need is to take time and study.



4. For a compact book on Swahili this is the best I've seen. The contents of this little gem were easily divided into useful and practical sections, covering a broader use of the language than I've come across in other similar type books. Each section was uniquely and clearly identifiable allowing faster access to put your fingertips on the words or phrases you need. This book also succeeds in helping the reader obtain a basic yet concrete understanding of the Swahili language where other similar books have attempted but failed.



5. We used this book before and during our volunteer trip to Kenya.
   It's a great resource, helps a lot, has all the basic things you wanna know (actually much more than you're going to need for a short trip), as well as slangs and even a few surprises (what to say in very specific situations, like when you're drunk or having sex (I'm guessing if they put this on the book, it must be because people asked for it)).
   There are a few phrases they recommend I found out nobody uses anymore, and a few others that are used by people in the coast, but not by people in Nairobi area or other parts of the country, for example.
   But still, I recommend it.
   It's very small, fits in your pocket.
   But there's so much information you really need to do your homework, study it before your trip, and mark the pages that interest you.

5 comments about Mongolia (Country Guide).

1. I think one of the reasons why this guide book comes in for criticisms has to do with Mongolia's mixed development since the collapse of communism. There was initially a great deal of optimism that the economy would take off and that Mongolia would become another asian tiger. At that time the Ghengis Khan hotel was thrown up. But in fact the country has endured a topsy turvy road to economic stability, with widespread poverty and crumbling infrastructure. People look at China, and its breakneck development, and think Mongolia must be improving at the same pace.
   
   Tourists seeking the sanitised and comfortable journey they can experience in China, end up feeling very disappointed. Tourists must be forewarned: Mongolia is still an adventure destination and one that takes an adventurous spirit to tackle successfully. Don't expect things to work well, or food standards to be high, or the infrastructure to be new. It is a ramshackle country with a fantastic culture and great people.
   
   The people's pride comes in to this. Being a democracy, Mongolians hotly debate the state of their country, and many are not happy with the path taken so far. This pride and anger comes out in its attempts to pretend the place is more advanced than it is, or to take offence when people comment frankly on the true state of the capital. But it is better to tell the truth because then people will know what to expect. I can think of equally volatile debates over guidebooks about the UK. But I had to agree with LP,since its writers point out the true state of a place.



2. This guide is pretty much your only choice when it comes to travel guides of Mongolia. Nevertheless, I found it helpful and up to date everytime I came to rely it during my time in Mongolia.
   
   Mongloia is indeed a huge country and this guide is small, but seemed complete and well researched and presented. Mongolia is indeed a remote place with little in the way of modern conveniences. This book is a good place to start when planning your trip or to find what you are looking for when you are on the road.



3. Mongolia is a difficult country to travel. No infrastructure, roads, cities, familiar modes of transportation, hotels or food.
   This guide is practical and detailed to help plan and execute a safe, memorable, fun trip with out having to spend thousands of $'s on tour groups.
   The best guide out there!
   Janice Jaffe



4. In the past year I have spent six months in rural Mongolia. There is not much choice of guidebooks in English and we are fortunate that Lonely Planet has put out a small book that nevertheless conveys an awful lot of really good information. My copy was in constant use. On my visits to Ulaan Baatar I found the guide to be indispensable. Practically everything worth visiting was listed and described.
   
   For a lot of western travellers, Mongolia will be a fairly daunting experience. The book identifies potential difficulties and suggests how to minimise problems. That being said, Mongolia is a great place to visit - fascinating coutry and wonderful people.
   
   If you are going to Mongolia, "Don't leave home without it!"



5. This is a great book offering really useful info such as phone numbers, maps, addresses, etc. It even featured a picture of my guide for my horse-trip when he was a wrestler. Amazing.
   
   Sure, the info is getting out of date but anyone who has been to Mongolia will know how impossible it is to keep up with the changes. And keeping in mind that Mongolians don't tend to adhere to strict schedules, you can't expect it to be perfect.
   
   My friend and I went, each carrying this book, and my only regret is that he gave one away.
   
   PS: When desperate for good food, you can always count on the Great Mongolian.

5 comments about Getting Stoned with Savages: A Trip Through the Islands of Fiji and Vanuatu.

1. Since I'm really busy I admit to being picky about what I read. This book didn't do it for me: after 2 weeks I'm only on page 45. The concept of a middle class man in his early 30's going to discover himself in a 3rd world country might be cool, but it's not different or new anymore. Nowadays there are many people who do what the author did, or something similar it. I would feel bad giving this book such a bad review except that the author seemed a little arrogant and I'm sure he's made a lot of money off his "sex lives" "getting stoned" books. I will not finish this book. I'm glad that I didn't actually spend money on it but rather found it left behind in an airplane.



2. We spent almost three months Cruising in Vanuatu in 2007. This book gave us some great insight complementing our first hand experiences about how this fascinating country operates and where a big percentage of the locals live a true subsistence life without the hassles of western civilization. Plus the book is a very fun read!



3. excellent book. funny and unpredictable. makes you believe you can invision his trips. highly recommended



4. This was my first Troost book, and I found it laugh out loud funny, witty, and a light, fun, fast read. It was well worth the day it took to read it. I'm not going to suggest it was profound, thought provoking, or a must read from a literary sense, but it's one of those books that you read when you want something funny and light. It sounds like the people who first read "Sex Lives of Cannibals" were somewhat disappointed in this book. (Which just tells me that "Sex Lives of Cannibals" must be hilarious! Maybe everyone should read this one first.) Without having read that to compare to (therefore rating purely on a stand-alone basis), I found this book really enjoyable. Troost's witty humor, sarcasm, and ability to poke fun at himself make for an enjoyable read (especially between books tackling heavier subject matters). It's like taking your own mini vacation.



5. Not as good as the first, even though more timely. As I read about the coup in Fiji four years ago in Troost's book, the day's headlines on Yahoo.com included a story describing the continuing infighting!
   
   Troost's strengths are not as a journalist, but as an observer of the cultural and social divides and denominators that bring us together and tear us apart. His first book, perhaps with the fresh eyes of innocence, was better.
   
   Following The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific with Getting Stoned, I can't wait for the third installment on rock and roll.

5 comments about Spain (EYEWITNESS TRAVEL GUIDE).

1. I went to Spain with this book and found it to be extremely helpful. With places to stay (even ratings), places to eat, money info, weather info, health info, emergency info, you name it.. it's in this book. Highly recommended.



2. I own four Eyewitness Travel Guides (France, Germany, Greece and Spain) and they are always useful for my trips. Additionally, I use them as guides even when I am not travelling anywhere, just to get knowledege about places I will not visit. Sometimes I think that some information as ticket pricing is necessary and not provided by this guide, but it is a minor issue when we see the complete usefulness of it.



3. great product...but a bit heavy to tote around Spain! Read it before you go.



4. Very Practical, though its bits of information..if you are planning in to visit a particular city, you should buy the book of that particular city. This book its like a run-through of Spain. But it has the most important guides and tips (Survival Guide). A really good value. It has really great pictures and drawings, great maps, a phrase book with translations and how to pronounce it. It has the maps of the metros in Barcelona and Madrid. It has a street finder, which is also very practical. Its a great book for "on your own trips", for it has the opening hours and its schedules.



5. Not only does this beautiful book have all the information one could need about getting around Spain, it is a joy to look at, with detailed maps, step-by-step articles, illustrated in color, on, for example "How sherry is made", "Moorish Architecture", "Flamenco, the soul of Andalusia", and many, many more. There are stunning full-page photographs and the quality of the paper and binding is excellent, yet it is not bulky or expensive. It has large colored photos of the Spanish currency,and information on Spanish ATM's, public phones, airports,etc and how to use them. The index is comprehensive. Even if you don't go to Spain this book is well worth studying!!