4 comments about Rand McNally World Atlas (Rand Mcnally World Atlas).

1. I was pleased with the prompt delivery, good price and the excellent quality of this book.



2. This isn't the most complete and authoritative atlas around, but it's a lot better than our old completely out of date one, and it's manageable, both pricewise and sizewise.



3. My daughter needed a world atlas for 5th grade. This is a very detailed atlas, but it was not organized in a way that was easy for my daughter to do her homework, which was much more basic. For example, she needed to know the capital of Missouri. The page for the state of Missouri showed pretty much every single city in that state. The capital city had no indicator, and the text was smaller than other city names, to indicate the size of the city. I'd recommend this atlas for an older student, not elementary or middle school.



4. I was looking to replace my Rand McNally International Atlas which is 40 years old. The old atlas has 278 pages of detailed maps of the world. This atlas has only general maps that aren't really of much use. I'd love to replace my old atlas if I can find a new one with detailed maps.

5 comments about Israel & the Palestinian Territories (Country Guide).

1. Preparing a ten days trip to Isarael I find this guide very useful and plenty with living tips.



2. Forget this book, even if you're going into the territories.
   
   Compared to Fodor's and Fromer's, very few attractions listed for anywhere (1-2 for every 5-6 in the other guides). Descriptions are paultry and mostly political commentary, and have substantial logistical errors in it.
   
   The book is written with distain towards Israel at every corner. Not a mindset I want for anyplace I'm traveling though. People regularly come back from Israel reporting how much they loved it, so this book is missing what almost every tourist can spot! The only time the distain lifts is in the terroritories where it glows. Even there though the glaring inaccuracies and errors made it a no-go. I had plans to go into the territories and wound up borrowing an internet connection to get the details I needed.
   
   Essentially the book is written as one long political statement. I would enjoy the "facts" from a "different" view - except that they are as inaccurate as the attraction descriptions...often even contradicting and illogical within their own wording. Then if you know any history it gets totally strange.
   
   Their description of why it's safe to go into the territories is - to make sure you look like a tourist because tourists aren't targeted. This is true, but they should have expanded beyond one very short paragraph for this third of their book so people could decide for themselves.
   
   It's not a tourguide book and to the extent it pretends to add any guide info, one'd be better off getting the info elsewhere.



3. This is the second Lonely Planet guide that I have used and am pleased to report that I was not disappointed. This guide offered a perfect blend of history, culture, and touristy tid-bits. While I only used the Jerusalem and West Bank sections, this book is great for traveling anywhere in the area. Often traveling to interesting places, at least for me, leads to prioritizing the 'must-sees' with a blend of 'I think that would be really cool to sees', and this book helps sorting those out. If you only buy one travel guide, I'd recommend this for serious contention.



4. This is the first time that I have used the Lonely Planet series and it may be the last. I found that the restaurants recommended were mediocre, the lodging descriptions were only vaguely accurate and worst of all, the directions for finding the cafes & internet access was both poorly done and at times completely inaccurate. I will admit that the fact that the guide listed internet cafes, etc was quite nice. In addition, I thought that the description of the history and sites was quite helpful. However, if you instead choose the guide by Eyewitness Travel, you will find excellent descriptions and pictures of the sites and, in my experience, better restaurant and lodging recommendations.



5. Although Lonely Planet guides are generally good, this one was a major disappointment. It has a very, very one sided pro-Arab and anti-Israel spin to it. Many Jewish areas are glossed over and not given enough detail. Jewish sites in the territories are completely ignored. Much time, space, and detail is given over to Palestinian areas and which Palestinian charities to contribute to, etc. and where to buy Palestinian handicrafts that will benefit refugees...etc, etc. ad nausuem, ad infinitum. Israel is a Jewish country and that is what should be emphasized in a guidebook. Sadly this was not the case. Incidentally the previous edition of this book by Andrew Humphries was better. Maybe I should write my own book?

5 comments about Birds of Peru (Princeton Field Guides).

1. After some three decades of work, Birds of Peru was finally published last year. This is the field guide that was first conceived by ornithologists John O'Neill, Ted Parker and Larry McQueen during the LSU Peru trips of the 1970s. Residing off reliable mail routes, I only just got my hands on a copy earlier this year. I had used photographs of the draft plates of this guide for fieldwork in Peru in the 1980s and on later trips had carried a pre-publication draft, and later a commercial copy of Clements' rather unsatisfactory Field Guide to the Birds of Peru. In short, I had been eagerly awaiting the finished product for 20 years, so I was very excited to get it. Suffice to say, given the original authors, and several others that subsequently joined the team, this guide was well worth the wait.
   
   The first innovation is that plates, maps and text for each species are found together on a single spread, eliminating the need to flip from one section of the book to another. With 1,800 species to choose from, this is a distinct help! Secondly, this guide has over 300 plates - 304 to be precise. That in itself is quite an achievement - compare 96 for Birds of Ecuador, 69 for Colombia or 67 for Venezuela. Sure enough, there are more illustrations per plate in those guides, but we are still dealing with a highly visual field guide. Boreal migrants are properly illustrated, reducing the need to carry an extra field guide to North American birds.
   
   The plates are by a number of artists. For me, Larry McQueen's are breathtaking. Perhaps that's a question of personal taste. His large, chunky watercolours capture the essence of the bird in similar way to another favourite artist of mine, Lars Jonsson. McQueen covers some key Neotropical groups including Woodcreepers, Furnariids, Antbirds and Tyrannids, which gives these groups a stamp of authenticity. Whether this approach works in the field is something I will have to test, but I can say that they look beautiful and faithful on the page. Although the plates are never less than good, another major Neotropical family, Hummingbirds, is - to my eye - the weakest of all the plates.
   
   The text is concise and oriented towards field identification, with minimal or no natural history data - information which adds crucial extra weight. An indication of abundance, geographical and altitudinal range and migratory status is given in the first sentence. Identification features follow. The voice descriptions are, to my ear, accurate and pleasing.
   
   Lastly, the book is sturdily bound so it won't immediately fall a part in the field. Compared to a north temperate field guide, Birds of Peru is heavy - but then it covers three times as many species. It might have been possible to lose a little weight by eliminating some of the white space on the plates, but this is a minor observation. At the end of the day, one of the world's major avifaunas now has an excellent field guide. Essential!
   
   Chris Sharpe, 18 June 2008. ISBN: 0691049157



2. not used it in the field yet, but all info looks great..detailed maps and cool (odd and kind of ugly for me) illustrations.. some huge so page space is not well used... anyways, a jewel expetected for so much time is now in our hands.... hardcover what makes it unconfirtable for the field..



3. I would not suggest this book to someone birding in Peru for the first time - it is missing several known species appearing in other volumes (ones that I have seen myself). Most notable, off the top of my head, is the Andean Duck. A more experienced birder who is more familiar with Peru will appreciate this guide, though.



4. Muy buen libro, 100% recomendable.
   Esta guia contiene imagenes de muy buena calidad, a color
   y con mapas bien detallados de la distribucion de todas
   las especies que habitan Peru.
   Cada especie incluye una detallada descripcion para su identificacion, sus voces, dimensiones, nombres, abudancias, distribucion en paises vecinos, etc. Mas de 650 paginas de un trabajo excelente!!!
   Un libro basico para los observadores de aves de sudamerica.



5. Ce nouveau guide des oiseaux du Pérou écrase largement l'ancien qui sur le terrain ne permettait pas de reconnaître grand chose !
   La qualité des dessins d'identification en particulier sur des genres difficiles comme les Grimpars ou les Tyrannidés associée au fait que mâles et femelle sont systématiquement dessinés, avec même parfois des dessins d'oiseaux en vol, en font le meilleur guide en Amérique du sud.
   Seul bémol, les textes sont trop pauvres, on est loin de la richesse des textes écris par Hilty dans "Birds of Venezuela".
   
   Cordialement

3 comments about Maps: Finding Our Place in the World.

1. Great product. arrived as advertised. What an amazing way to enrich one's mind with this book!



2. This publication is a companion book to the exhibit which recently closed at the Chicago Field Museum. It stands on its own as a thought provoking look at many different types of maps and the history of maps. I enjoyed the way the information was presented in this book and found a whole new appreciation for maps and the people who have created them. Many of the maps are works of art.



3. 
   This book is a catalog for an extraordinary exhibition of over 130 maps at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago and at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore (in collaboration with The Newberry Library).
   
   Some of my favorites include:
   
   Photographic road maps produced for the first automobilists. Page by page the photographs show country lanes, farmhouses and churches with arrows indicating the correct route.
   
   The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad of 1906, which shows routes of competing railroads in thin, spindly lines or not at all.
   
   Harry Beck's great 1933 map of the London Underground, which shows none of London's geography except for the Thames.
   
   The 1566 map by Giovanni Paolo Cimerlini showing religious divisions in the shape of a heart joined at the North Pole in the center of the map. ("The heart is such a common icon of love. It is a hopeful sign that there is possibility of universal harmony. The map came at a time when reformation is tearing apart the Christian world and there's conflict with Islam. There were advanced thinkers who were thinking we can all get along. This map is saying, 'Hey, we're all in this together.' It's an expression of hope.")
   
   Others include a 3,500-year-old clay tablet detailing walls, gates and palaces in the town of Nippur in what is now Iraq; three colored drawings by Leonardo da Vinci showing the typography of Europe; the map Charles Lindbergh carried with him on his history-making flight from New York to Paris annotated in his own handwriting; drawings by J.R.R. Tolkien of his fictional Middle-earth; and a deerskin map drawn by members of an American Indian tribe, where circles connected by lines indicate political ties among communities.
   
   Each of the maps is well described, and the individual map descriptions are enhanced by the introductions to each of the seven chapters. They include: "Finding Our Way", James R. Akerman, "Mapping the World", Denis Cosgrove; "Mapping Parts of the World", Matthew H. Edney; "Mapping American History", Susan Schulten; "Visualizing Nature and Society", Michael Friendly and Gilles Palsky; "Mapping Imaginary Worlds", Ricardo Padrón; and "Consuming Maps", Diane Dillon. There is also a list of references, a comprehensive bibliography and an excellent index.
   
   Both the Field and the Walters have very informative websites devoted to the exhibition, with many of the maps illustrated online. (Both institutes usually keep their exhibits online for several years after the exhibit closes.)
   
   Excellent as the online exhibits are, however, holding the book and studying the maps is much more rewarding.
   
   Robert C. Ross 2008

5 comments about No Worries Hawaii: A Vacation Planning Guide for Kauai, Oahu, Maui, and the Big Island.

1. My boyfriend and I just returned from Hawaii and spent one week on Maui and two weeks on the Big Island. We easily decided to visit these two islands after cruising through No Worries Hawaii.
   
   The guide sections off every island for you and highlights what's hot and holds your hand getting through the reservation system so you can get the best deals. Knowing the location we wanted to stay proved important and how to ask the right questions helped so much. Upper floor, end unit, away from the pool was right for us.
   
   Plenty of pictures, plenty of practical advice sold us over and over. I'm sitll wondering how they got so much good stuff inside in such an organized fashion. I guess because they have already plenty of experience writing guides for each island for 20 years. Read them, they know what they're talking about.



2. We loved this colorful guide with all its photos of all the Hawaiian islands. If you want to experience Hawaii's outdoors from more than a car window this is the resource to use. Superbly organized with a spark of humor and wit. A sane approach for tackling your vacation itinerary. We take it down from our shelf often and dream away. Next stop: Kauai.



3. This book helped me chose Kaua'i for my recent trip and I couldn't be happier. Highly recommended if you are going to Hawaii for the first time and aren't sure how to plan your trip. I think its usefulness is limited to planning though. I left it at home once I decided on Kaua'i.



4. I truely was surprised how much information was available and delighted by the travel possibilities to corners of Hawaii that I never thought of visiting. I found the itinerary planning part of the book most useful and interesting. The photos blew me away and tempted me to call United for a flight to the Big Island.



5. We're back from three weeks in Hawaii where we visited Maui and Oahu and Kauai - one week on each island. This is the excellent guide that made our holiday so rewarding with all its good to do's and not to do's. We saved by renting our own snorkeling equipment and following the directions to their recommeded beach zones. Same for kayaking. Their Wikiwiki Phonebook in the back pages held all the necessary numbers and our hotel allowed free local calls. We experienced total tropicland immersion and so many "oh wow's".

5 comments about The Outermost House: A Year of Life On The Great Beach of Cape Cod.

1. It's almost as if Henry Beston himself is reading his own words. The reader has a candor and tone that is absolutely perfect for this work and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this wonderfully executed piece from Silver Hollow Audio. I highly recommend this book to anoyne that enjoys either audio books, nature, or Cape Cod. I found myself quickly searching for the next disc as each one came to an end. The end of the last disc left me wanting for more - and with this set is a nicely done interview with Beston's biographer. The interview answered some lingering questions about both the house and the author himself. I rate this one a must have.



2. The Outermost House is a marvelous book; one of my all-time absolute favorites in the whole world. It's not, by the way, about outhouses, as one of my children wondered aloud upon hearing the title. Monsieur Beston has a terrific eye and an interesting style; his affection and respect for the interrelatedness of the natural world and concern that we humans forget our connection to it is akin to Thoreau's.
   
   This edition has a lengthy introduction by Robert Finch. Highly recommend skipping the intro until AFTER you read the book. Mr. Finch probably meant well, but he quotes extensively from the book - thereby spoiling some of the best parts - instead of giving us just enough to further pique our curiosity about the book or limiting himself to biographical information about Monsieur Beston.



3. This was one of my winter reading books. I enjoyed it very much because the writing was very clear and vivid. Henry spent a year on Cape Cod writing about the nature and how the season changes the land and his surroundings. He writes about a lot of the birds that migrate in and out of the region and raises some important environmental concerns about the delicate nature of our actions on the wildlife. I appreciated the light hearted feel of the writing and it stuck to the middle of the road as far as imposing any of his personal opinions about all and any subjects, which I thought was safe and perhaps is the one of the negatives I feel for the writing. It was written with a modest sense of pleasure and feeling. It was in any sense, a very nice read and very indicative of the northeastern way of life.



4. I have bought two copies of The Outermost House and am looking for a third. I keep giving my copy away to people who I feel will enjoy it as much as I did, and then I miss having my copy. It is a soothing and very visual tale of life on the beach at Cape Cod. Sometimes I long for that total serenity the author shares. A very enjoyable audiobook!



5. After another family trip to Chatham I desperately wanted to bring Cape Cod home and preserve the atmosphere that takes residence in your soul when you give yourself fully to its powerful coastal calling. As daily obligations put a layer of fog over my memories it was very cathartic to end the day reading Henry Beston's observations in an Eastham cottage in the 1920's.
   
   Beston is an able writer with a poetic style who is able to capture the allure of Cape Cod. He effectively brings the reader onto the beaches with all the animal and plant life that breathes life into this region. However, he has a tendency to write lengthy musings about specific birds or plant life that can get very tedious. Portions of his observations seem to be nothing more than the ramblings of someone who is bored and in need of companionship other than a group of flittering birds searching for food in the dunes.
   
   In the end, Beston was able to evoke a powerful longing that provided the soothing and comforting effect I was looking for. Recommended for anyone who wants to bring a "peace" of the Cape home, and for anyone interested in solitary observations of nature along the beaches of one of the best places on earth.

5 comments about Mexican Spanish: Lonely Planet Phrasebook.

1. I think these books are perfect for any traveler. With the Spanish language being so unique to each country, the phrasebooks allow you to familiarize yourself with a specific Latin American region. I used the Costa Rican book last year when I visited and found it so useful that I left it with my friend who had just moved there. She found it so helpful that she still carries it with her everyday in her purse. I got my father the Mexican phrasebook for Christmas so he could communicate better with some of his employees at work. I think he has found it very useful as well.



2. Had been looking for this phrasebook since I went to Mexico in Nov 06. I was able to use it extensively while there. Excellent helps!



3. Easy to navigate, read, and carry...only downfall i could find is that its hard to find the colors translated. I find this important but unfortunately there is no section for them.



4. As usual Lonely Planet has the best. Lots of phrases grouped into sections ie) restaurants, shopping etc. Good Eng-Spa dictionary and vice versa. Easy to use.



5. I really like this book. Fits perfectly in your handbag or saddlebag out on the trail. All the basics are covered here and even some things you may never need to say at all - such as various pick up line in bars! There is a nice sense of humor paired with common sense throughout this phrasebook. However, if you need to find a particular word for a particular item you will need a true Engligh/Spanish dictionary rather than a phrasebook. I carry both with me almost constantly.

5 comments about Complete Idiot's Guide to Running a Bed and Breakfast.

1. Although this book has a lot of good advice, it's not my favorite book I've read on the subject. It seemed rather drawn out and some of the advice was rather vague. It's the fourth book I've read on the subject, since I am planning on opening a B&B soon. I still would recommend reading it, but read others as well.



2. This book totally hits it down. From the perspective of someone who loves to look at B&Bs but doesn't often follow the latest trends of demographics and whatnot in an industry laden with stealth, mystery, and cloak & dagger tactics I found out that it is much more of a business to unravel and spend time juxtaposing with other work rather than just a casual fling of an investment like what would result if one were, for instance, to open a stock account and buy a specific amount of random (or highly recommended) equities. The author is very well known in his subject matters and thus procreats an authenticity of vernacular style of someone who would run a typical B&B but who would author books and articles on the side kinda like Robin Masters from that excellent television programme Magnum PI - how he would just like let that dude stay in his house all the time and dog out his Ferrari but wouldn't barely even charge him very much because all in all they were the best of friends AND because Higgins, despite all of his worldliness just was not up to par in keeping up with a crafty and backstabbing individual like Thomas Magnum.



3. Before I went into the business, I read this one and "I'm Living Your Dream Life" by Michele Cozzens. Both are very valuable tools.



4. My wife and I recently purchased a B&B in California. Before making the leap, we researched the industry as best as we could, and we bought every book on the subject from Amazon. I can say that this book was extremely informative and helpful. Nice job. Another book that I feel is a must read before anyone goes into this business is Michele Cozzens' I'm Living Your Dream Life: The Story of a Northwoods Resort Owner



5. It is a right book to read especially before you are thinking to open a B&B. I intend to open an B&B in Europe during this year and this book really helped me to understand how to start and how to run a B&B. I am really looking forward to implement the ideas, tips and advices from this book.

5 comments about Adrift: Seventy-six Days Lost at Sea.

1. Absolutely fascinating, informative, a must for any sailor, and highly recommended for anyone heading out to sea.



2. Because of the horrible writing style I couldn't get past twenty pages. It was so mercilously annoying to struggle through the author's short, choppy sentences. His story might have been intriguing, but he should have hired a professional ghost writer. Put it aside for 'Lost' which is a much better written book.



3. I loved reading this book. The author has an amazing determination. Many times throughout the story, he was in a pinch and on the brink of disaster and death, but he fought and decided he was going to survive no matter what it took. He is a very intelligent person, judging by some of the assessments and solutions he came up with during the experience. He also has incredible will-power. Read the book if you love survival stories such as this.



4. I ordered this book on a whim. It's not usually my sort of fare but Callahan had me from the start and I had a hard time putting it down. Day by day, struggle by struggle, every new experience gave you either a sense of tremendous triumph or total despair. I was rooting for Callahan through out the book. I caught my self laughing out loud several times and twitching my feet nervously at others.
   
   Steven Callahan did one of the best jobs in all of adventure writing at bringing the reader into his little life-raft world. It was amazing to see an entire eco-system develop around his orange raft and how he interacted with it.
   
   Truly an amazing book and an amazing journey. Be forewarned, you'll feel lost at sea with Callahan!



5. Adrift is the true story of Steven Callahan, whose small boat sunk in the Atlantic Ocean, after he floats on his inflatable raft for 76 days before finally being rescued.
   
   
   This is right out of one of my favorite genres - true life survival stories. The story starts slow, but once he has to abandon his boat sinks and he is has to really start surviving, it is very engaging. I greatly enjoyed reading of all the details of his water-gathering, shark-deterring, fishing and storm riding.
   
   I am pretty sure I would have died about day 20. Great reading for anyone interested in this genre. Other favorites from this genre include "The Long Walk", "We Die Alone" and "Alive".

5 comments about Imperium.

1. A lyrical masterpiece by this superlative writer! Nowhere have I found a dissection of the Evil Empire done with such fluid verse. He goes from the periphery into the heart of the beast and everywhere he discovers that appearances deceive and what seems to signal change is really a re-hash of old. Kapuczinski's sharp analysis and trenchant comments will be sorely missed!



2. Perhaps history will never be told better than through the eye of this travelling writer (or is it a writing traveller?). Read and be awed by the staggering proportions of recent history in the vast empire that is no more, the Sovjet Union. And be chilled to the bones by the unimaginable amounts of suffering inflicted by the sovjet leaders on their own people. And be astonished that in the midst of the most utter despair, poverty, and enslavement, Kapuscinski can find optimism, humor, and love of life.



3. As stated in most of the reviews of this book, Kapuscinski is a great writer. If you have not read him allready, read this book and understand why. If you allready have read him, you are going to read this book based on what you allready have learned to know.
   
   Having given Kapuscinski the credit he obviously deserves for his writing, I believe there is some points that should be done.
   
   -First Kapuscinski stands on the shoulders of giants. His writing is to a great extent the result of the local people that he meets on his journeys and agrees to open their region and their lifes to him.
   
   -Kapuscinski is a very gifted writer endeed, that have read a lot about the places and peoples that he visits. On one hand this is what always makes his writing so alive, something to go back to and read agian, so informative. On the other hand gret litterature sometimes can serve as a way of getting away with having little or nothing to really report from the battleground when his plan fails or when he does not get what he intended out of a trip. Striking examples of this is his journey at the Trans-siberian railway where he only observes the Soviet Union through the train window or to Nagarno Karabakh where he is stuck inside an airport, a car and a flat. That his stories is as intriguing, even when he hardly experience "what the war looks like on the ground" is a clear sign that his capabilities as dramaturg and writer can make up for a rather thin story. Even when he gets the chance to write the story he intended from a place he visits, the timeframe and the difficulties he worked under limits his insights compared to the writers that have covered the area afer him.
   
   -Some paragraphs in the book makes me a bit uncertain about how good the translation is (my review is based upon the Norwegian translation). In the first chapter - Pinsk '39 the comment of a NKVD officer visiting their house "Muzh kuda?" is traslated "where is your husband" instead of the correct "Where have your husband gone", meaning that the NKVD officer allready knows that he has recently been in the house, meaning someone has infomed the NKVD that Kapuscinski's father (a hunted partisan) has recently been in the house. Things like this is not a big deal, but it makes you start thinking about the quality of the translation in general and if it can be the case that the author underplays the role of ordinary people as informers in the terror.
   
   -In his story about the war in Pinsk 1939, his memory of the events as a child probably is an important expalianation behind the qualities of the stories. In the memory of a child events that would probably be described as horrorful and sad by a grown up, in the eyes of a smal shild gets exciting, intriguing, colorful and down to earth.
   
   All in all, Kapuscinski is good reading and Imperium is a great intruduciton to the former Soviet Republics. To get true insight in the contemporary former Soviet Republics, you will need further reading though.



4. I purchased this book after reading about the author in the Wall Street Journal. He died earlier this year. The author, a journalist, kept two notebooks while on assignments throughout the world, one for his assignment and one for himself. In this book he combined his observations from several trips he took within Russia and its states over a span of many decades. At times his writing style can be quite poetic, and the book is not unlike a travel book, although Soviet Russia was not a friendly place at the times of his visits. I intend to read his other books, and highly recommend this one.



5. This is a great book, all of Kapuscinski`s books are great. It takes you for a journey you don`t expect. Great style and I always regret it`s over, after I finish to read his book.