3 comments about The Patisseries of Paris: Chocolatiers, Tea Salons, Ice Cream Parlors, and more.

1. This is a lovely little fairy tale of a book, and whether you are a foodie, an armchair traveler, a world traveler, or someone who needs romance, this book will supply it in spades. When you see the book, you will notice that it is small, designed to look like a box from a patisserie or chocolatier, and the colors are muted and soft, like a 21rst century impressionist painting seen through a layer of clouds. I loved the writing. It is intimate, honest, amusing, and charming, almost like having your best friend talking to you, and filling your head with incredible pictures. You will almost be able to smell, taste, and hear the sounds of the places you are reading about. I will probably never go to Paris, but I fell in love with France in high school when I studied the language, so I love reading about all things French. If you are lucky enough to go to Paris, a quick perusal of this book will tell you the best places to eat, see, and experience. I do not recommend a quick perusal, however, because this book at it's best, is like a fairy tale in food. It is charming, concise, anecdotal, and romantic, because hey! It is Paris. When your head is filled to bursting with wonderful imagery from the writing, take a moment or ten or twenty to enjoy the beautiful photographs. The really lovely thing about this book is that the writing and the photos go together so well. One does not detract from the other, but it enhances and completes the other. I must say again how much I loved the writing. I really enjoyed the behind the scenes aspect of some of the shops, and especially "A Day In The Life of a Patissier". I can not recommend this book highly enough. It is absolutely wonderful, and I feel as though I have just had a blissful experience and not gained an ounce! The word evocative comes to mind; I can almost see myself sitting at one of those darling little tables, looking chic, tragically beautiful, and sharing sweets with a devastating French actor. That may not be your dream, but it is mine, and I won't say what happens after he pays the bill, and looks soulfully into my eyes, and warns me not to touch the last croissant.



2. A fun guide I finally got to see at the British bookstore, W.H.Smith on rue de Rivoli. The luscious pictures and detailed descriptions make you want to run all over Paris and not miss a single patisserie. Sadly a few places have since closed like Carette. Why any pastry shop should ever close in Paris is beyond me!



3. This cocoa-dusted treasure hits that mythical sweet spot between practical, trusted travel guide and gorgeous, dreamy (if petite) coffee table book. Full of the kind of beautiful photos and evocative lyrical prose that you'll never find in any guide and jam-packed with all of the actionable, expert advice that's missing from all those exquisitely photographed gift books, this one has it all. Organized by arrondissements, you're meant to flip to the neighborhood you're visiting to find the author's recos for the best macarons, tartes or baguettes nearby. If I were visiting France soon, that's just what I'd be doing. Cramming bookmarks between the pages, grabbing a map and taking off before the sun came up. But for now, curled up on my couch in New Jersey, I'm literally reading this like a romantic novel. Cover to cover. Dreaming of Paris...

5 comments about A Walk Across America.

1. When I was 21, I didn't have the nerve to just pick up and drive across America like some friends from college did. I wish I did. So now, even as a mom and a wife, my husband and I plan trips across the country to see what it is like and what we can share with our boys.
   
   I picked this book up at my church library and it's a wonderful book ~~ so what if the grammar and writing style are awkward? It's wonderful. I am literally jealous because he experienced some things that I wish I did. He got on the road and traveled to see America with his very best friend, Cooper. Did I mention that Cooper is his dog? (As a dog owner, I totally relate to Jenkins' view that Cooper is his best friend.) So Jenkins decided to figure out if America is really a beautiful country ~~ disillusioned with the Vietnam War, politics, the "American Way" and with people. He decided that the only way he can ever know what he thinks or believes in is to hike across America. Apparently, this is the first book of that journey where he walks with Cooper, whom he lost due to an accident in Tennessee on The Farm. But all ends well in New Orleans.
   
   Along the way, he meets a lonely mountain man and learned about the life on the mountains. He meets strangers who aren't friendly. He meets strangers that knew about him by word of mouth. He meets Governor Wallace in Alabama. He gets adopted by a family in the Carolinas, where he stopped for several months to work and earn money. He almost gets killed by a drunken posse who decided that he was alright after all ~~ without laying a finger on him. The man came back the next day and apologized for scaring him. He gets kicked out of a small community because he was a "hippie" with a beard and long hair. He communes on The Farm where everyone worked together and raised vegetables/fruits, children together. He traveled long and hard before reaching the Gulf. And his stories are just fascinating.
   
   If you like travel stories, this is definitely a good one to pick up. If you want to hear about a man's viewpoint about different parts of the country ~~ this is a good choice. It's clean, refreshing and stark. It's not the best writing in the world, but he was 22 when he did that and he wasn't trained to be a writer. But he did something that a lot of people wish that they could do (including me).
   
   8-31-07



2. I read Jenkins' book 20+ ears ago. I also had the chance to meet him. I can, honestly say that this book changed my life. He made me so curious about places I'd never seen that my native Ohio seemed pretty small. I worked toward an international career and ended up living in Europe for six years and traveling all over Asia. This is a pretty wonderful world with a lot of wonderful people. Thanks to this book, I got off my butt and went out to see it for myself. Thanks Peter!



3. To me, Peter Jenkins comes across as a very selfish, self-centered person. At the beginning, he abandoned his young wife for no apparent reason (he does not really explain what happened except by saying things got unbearable between them), in the end, he dragged another girl to walk across the country with him, even though he realized that this would totally disrupt her career. Even his treatment of his dog shows that he is obsessed with himself -- he thought his dog could think like a human (actually, like him) and he used plural to describe what he and his dog think (we remembered, we liked or did not like this place, etc.), which is completely ridiculous, mildly irritating and totally laughable. I guess that what long, lonely walks do to people, and if you get stranded on an island, you may also talk to a volleyball.
   
   Even though he tried to distance himself from the hippies, he really is just another hippie who cares only about himself and his "spiritual journey" rather than the people who care about him. How his whole walk started is still not very clear to me, he said it was because he hated his country and wanted to see it for himself, but from the book I did not get a strong impression of this. Instead, I got the impression that it was just another excuse for him to walk away from responsibility.
   
   But, I guess we shouldn't be too harsh on the author. Despite the somewhat juvenile writing style, irksome overuse of exclamation marks, the absurdity of using plural to describe himself and his dog, the trite story of how he found god in some southern evangelical congregations, and the adolescent and melodramatic love affair at the end, walking and working his way from upper state New York to New Orleans is no small feat, neither is writing a book about it. Overall, it was an easy, mostly enjoyable (though occasionally irritating) read.
   
   The parts about the mountain hermit and when he lived with a black family are the highlights of the book. I also think the author did an adequate, if not excellent, job of recording the conversations of people with different background and origins. The part about "The Farm" (a place where a group of hippie cult people lived) is kind of confusing. Why did he go back and in the process got his dog killed? Why didn't he just walk away?
   
   I also found some of his self-confessed "preconceptions" about southerners are so stereotypical that they do not appear very believable anymore; they sound more like what he made up afterwards to build a contrast between his preconceptions and reality in order to tell the story ("I thought they were just undereducated rednecks, but wait, they are actually nice folks"). More importantly, The religious undertone almost got out of hand at the end and was in danger of ruining the book. Had it happened earlier in the book, it must have made it intolerable. Fortunately that was not the case.
   
   I wavered between giving it a 3 or 4 stars (truthfully I would give it a 3.5 stars), but considering he walked the walk and wrote the book, both are no small feats, I will give it 4 stars.



4. The author doesn't walk across America. He starts his journey in NY and ends up in Louisiana.
   
   I expected more camping-type outdoorsy adventures and hikes through mountains and valleys (as the title and the book's front cover suggests). Instead I got a four-month stay in a crowded house trailer owned by a black southern family, and his extended stay at the commune with the hippies. The author's brief visit with the mountain man was interesting.
   
   The book leans heavily on other people, their activities and events. Little emotional insight is ever revealed about the author. The man and his dog are seldom alone, beating the path on foot or fending for themselves. The book reads like a teenager's "What I Did on My Summer Vacation" school report.
   
   Younger people might like this book. Older adults may find it boring and lacking in luster and adventure.



5. If you are one of those people who sees everyone by location, race, politics or economic status, this travel through America will let you see the great people of this country as they really are: Americans.

5 comments about Rick Steves' Scandinavia (Rick Steves).

1. This book was very helpful in putting together basic itineraries for the Scandinavian countries. However the Lonely Planet book was more complete, and the maps are FAR superior. I actually needed both of them to "guide me" through this area. Sometimes, the Steves' guide provided me information that I could not find in the Lonely Planet guide and vice versa.



2. While I usually love Rick Steves' books, won't leave home without one, and take nothing else, this book was a disappointment. The directions were very poor so we got lost even on his orientation walks (not generally a time you need a real city map). The accomodations listings were wanting. Though it said you could assume breakfast was included and credit cards were accepted unless otherwise mentioned, this never worked. We found no breakfasts at places that he didn't specifically describe them, and the places in Denmark he listed as taking credit cards only accepted Danish cc's. We found better meals for better prices than he recommended with very minimal effort. Scandanavia is so expensive that saving money (the primary RS claim) is critical, but not easy following this book's suggestions. This guide was so far below the normal RS standard, we were left wondering if RS actually had anything to do with it or if he has bitten off more than he can chew during his success and passed it off to less consciencous minions. The book was helpful on narrowing down what to see, so I would recommend checking it out; just don't rely on it exclusively.



3. I just returned from a two-week adventure in Scandinavia, where I hung out in Oslo, Copenhagen, and Stockholm. I had a great time seeing the places where my predecessors came from, and I can attribute much of my trip's success to the "Rick Steves' Scandinavia 2005" guidebook. Mr. Steves has created an excellent and portable all-in-one travel resource for this region. It's well organized, and compact enough to fit in a jacket pocket for consultation on the fly. But most importantly, his hotel, transportation, and attraction recommendations fit my traveling desires and saved me time and money.
   
   For example, finding a decent place to stay in a strange country can be daunting, but Mr. Steves' picks came through every time. His three-tiered rating system based on pricing helped me zero in on optimal accommodations: high (fancier hotels), moderate (nice, but no frills), and low priced (hostels and private homes). I stuck to the moderate level, and the book led me to a good night's sleep in each city. The City Hotel and Rainbow Hotel Astoria in Oslo, Hotel Jorgensen in Copenhagen, and Queen's Hotel in Stockholm were all great for a thirtysomething solo traveler on a budget. They had helpful staff, good breakfasts included with the room, and locations close to transportation centers and attractions.
   
   Getting around Scandinavia was made easier by the hints in "Scandinavia 2005." Taking the night cruise from Oslo to Copenhagen got me on a cruise ship for the first time, and watching the shore slip by while enjoying a nice wine and cigar was sweet. I also took Mr. Steves' advice and reserved a couchette on a night train from Copenhagen to Stockholm (a bit crowded with five other people in the cabin, but efficient nontheless). Both methods enabled me to combine travel with sleep to maximize time and kroner savings. And his admonition to rely on walking and bicycling to intimately experience the cities was smart, especially since I lost seven pounds while seeing the sights!
   
   Finally, Mr. Steves' ratings on things to see and do helped me dive into my Nordic roots. He uses a zero to three triangle rating system (three triangles = don't miss; two triangles = try hard to see; one triangle = worthwhile if you can make it; no triangle = worth knowing about). Based on his recommendations, I experienced cool sights like the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo, Christiania in Copenhagen, and the Vasa Museum in Stockholm. Simple hand-drawn maps helped me navigate the cities and easily find these attractions (along with the accommodations listed above). And the additional information he provided enabled me to prioritize my sightseeing based on distance, operating hours, and price.
   
   Of course, no guidebook is perfect because the information is static and recommendations are based on opinion. Admission prices rise, museums change their exhibits, and a "don't miss" attraction ends up being a bust (like the three-triangle Nordic Museum in Stockholm, mainly because Swedish fabrics and dinner settings aren't my thing). But having the "Rick Steves' Scandinavia 2005" guidebook really helped me to achieve an outstanding travel experience I'll never forget. For that, he gets my highest endorsement.



4. No information on Sweden except Stockholm and Sweden's south. Hardly any information on North Norway. Not for those travelling by car. Out of 2 Restaurant recommendations we tried to follow in Bergen this August, one restaurant had shut down, and another had incorrect hours specified. Most hotels listed for Tallinn are horribly overpriced. Overall, a real disappointment.



5. As always, Rick Steves has a lot of valuable and informative information about the subject. In this case he provides a great deal of useful and timely data for anyone planning a trip to Scandanavia. The guide also is a valuable travel tool to have and use while visiting Scandanavia. Specific information about accomodations , dining and sightseeing are always 'right on the money'. Thanks, Rick!

5 comments about Kauai Underground Guide: And Free Hawaiian Music CD (Kauai Underground Guide).

1. This is an amazing travel guide. The authors cover every inch of the island, and their descriptions are spot-on accurate. We spent 12 days in Kauai and stayed at the Lihue Marriott as perfectly recommended by the book. We carried this book with us every where we went.
   
   The book was simply an inexhaustible resource that steered us in the right direction time and time again. The book made our vacation even more stress free. I don't know how the vacation would have gone without it.
   
   The only downside of the book is that the authors don't recommend their "overall favorite" beach for winter and summer, or their "overall favorite" restaurant.
   
   The beaches are dramatically different during the winter and the summer. For example, you do not want to be on the north side of the island during the winter, where it rains all the time. In the winter, the best beaches by far can be found at Salt Pond Beach Park on the south side of the island, or at Polihale State Park on the west side of the island (make sure to rent a Jeep or SUV if you want to enjoy the Polihale State Park's spectacular mountainside beaches, which can only be accessed via a dirt road through sugar cane fields; we braved the trip in a Pontiac G6 but it was a white knuckle drive.).
   
   Unfortunately, the authors' descriptions of the beaches are generally in a "best weather" format, and generally don't distinguish between the seasons. As a result, we spent one day driving around in rain on the north and east sides of the island looking for what were supposed to be great beaches. The beaches are great in the summer, but in the winter they were nothing but rough waves, wind, and rain. (We confirmed the first day's results when we frequently re-visited those sides of the island to dine.)
   
   We also spent a few nights at restaurants that the authors described as good, and that were generally good. However, I wish we hadn't waited to dine at The Blossoming Lotus, which offers a dining experience unmatched by any other restaurant on the island, and can certainly compete with any mainland fine dining restaurant. In 2006, the restaurant was named the best on the island and is critically praised by many experts. The authors should just acknowledge what everyone else already knows and come out and call it the best restaurant on the island. Generally, all of the island's restaurants except the Mexican restaurants (try Mariachi's!) offer the same dishes, and, thus, are redundant. The Blossoming Lotus is truly a unique dining experience, and I will quickly add not just on the island. It literally blew us away!!!
   
   Buy the book and enjoy Kauai!!!



2. Not enough information on how to do any activities on your own. Too many "Guided tours".



3. The book contains a great deal of information about Kauai's best hidden places and how to discover them on your own. It is a great resource for people who prefer peace and natural beauty without crowds or commercialism. However, tours are sometimes the only way to explore the places that make Kauai so special (for example boat tours of the Na Pali coast, helicopter tours, or hiking tours of the interior wilderness best accessed by experienced leaders) and so the authors suggest the best local companies, particularly those with a history of responsible tourism and respect for the environment. Readers need options, and the authors try to make detailed information available for informed choices. As the original guidebook writers to Kauai, the book has often been praised for its extensive and reliable research. It made my vacation!



4. If you like to dine out, this is the book for you. Over 90 pages of a 239 page book are devoted to restaurants. For my wife and I who like to pack a lunch and go exploring, this part of the book was not used. We like to hike and photograph scenic spots. Two of Kauai's most scenic spots, Wailua Falls and Opaeka'a Falls are not even mentioned in the book. The index is rather skimpy. The book is heavily weighted toward those who want to patronize the local businesses for tours, rentals, shopping, etc. with lots and lots of names and phone numbers. We found the section on choosing a helicopter company based on what each has to do for their FAA certificate helpful, as well as how many crash fatalities each has had. One of the most helpful guides that we had was a magazine called Kaua'i Traveler ($4.95 at Amazon) which we picked up at our hotel. It included very succinct descriptions of and directions to the top sites on the island. The magazine gave us directions to Kipu Falls which is easily accessible by a short well worn trail. The guide book says that "the only safe and legal way to visit Kipu Falls" is go take a kayak and hiking tour costing $75 to $129.



5. I bought 3 books on Kaua'i and I ranked this one second behind Kaua'i Revealed. This is a good guide with many good pointers, but lacks detailed directions on how to get to some places. I have been to Kaua'i now 3 times and I am looking for new places to explore. All in all, this is a good buy for the money.

5 comments about Nepal (Country Guide).

1. we were in nepal in recently and found this guide to be very useful and informative; will recommend it to anybody who is travelling to a new country.



2. I bought this book to prepare for my trip to Nepal. I found the advice in the book regarding cultural mores and appropriate behavior to be invaluable. The descriptions of places, restaurants, and hotels was accurate. I would have liked to see longer lists of accommodations. One thing I learned in Nepal is there are many, many more hotels than this book describes.
   
   Here's why I gave it a 4: if you are over 40, go out and buy reading glasses before purchasing this book. The font size is very small and difficult to read for those of us with older eyes, especially in the dim light of an airplane or a Nepal Hotel Room.



3. Lonely Planet has never let me down. It seems no matter where in the world I travel, LP has walked, slept, and eaten there! I am still looking for a place to travel where they have not been. Any suggestions?



4. Good overall coverage of the region. Listed all major activities from rafting, hiking, driving, or whatever. I would recommend it for people traveling there. I wish it would have gone into detail about the tour operators.



5. I really only used the info regarding Kathmandu since that is the only place I visited but the information given was accurate even the warning about the electricity going out all of a sudden for hours in the city. That was fun to experience and thankfully we read it in the book. The best recent book I could find on Nepal.

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 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.

No comments about Are We There Yet?: The Golden Age of American Family Vacations (Cultureamerica).

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 A Pig in Provence: Good Food and Simple Pleasures in the South of France.

1. A PIG IN PROVENCE: GOOD FOOD AND SIMPLE PLEASURES IN THE SOUTH OF FRANCE tells of a habitual France vacationer who decides to buy a small farmhouse deep in the backcountry. Thirty years later she tells the story of her life in Provence: a story that revolves around seasonal change, culinary specialties, and fun stories of the foodways and culture of the region. Any fan of Provence or French culinary traditions will find this gentle story revealing and appealing, and libraries catering to Francophiles will also find it a popular lend.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch



2. This is a fantastic story about one woman's introduction to and exploration of life in Provence. The book takes you on a culinary journey through the region, with beautiful introductions to specialties of the area. Each chapter features a different major Provence food: truffles, goat cheese, garlic, etc and ends with a recipe that has been featured in the narrative. For those who want understand the relationship between the land, the food, and the people of Provence, this book is highly recommended.



3. This is not only an immensely enjoyable memoir of provencal living which is so easy to read, it has a useful overview of subjects such as mushroom collecting with practical receipes at the end of each chapter. I have ALOT of books about americans living in France and this is one of my favorites to date.



4. Rather evocative but wish it were fulleer and longer. The recipes could have been rather more original



5. Great little book about Rural France and a difference culture - you get a feeling thru the writer as to how things have maybe changed but hopefully stayed the same - it's a good fast read