1 comments about Frommer's Niagara Region.

1. We used this little book extensively on our recent fall Niagara Trip. Gives valuable information to optimize your visit so you don't waste time doing things you know you wouldn't enjoy. It alsos gives tips on interesting things to do in the entire Niagara region. People with varied interests can find many things to do.

5 comments about Weird Hauntings: True Tales of Ghostly Places (Weird).

1. I really enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone interested in the paranormal. Perfect for Halloween!
   
   Rose Pressey
   Author of "My Haunted Family"



2. This was a very interesting book. My only regret is I will never get to go to most of these places to experience these things for myself. Great reading for ghosty people.



3. I enjoyed reading this book, very interesting as it leads you to different places and each author has his/her own story to tell. The table of contents was organized from haunted houses, historic haunts, terrifying travels, the otherworldly outdoors and so forth. It was a well-researched book with detailed events. Some of the photos of places and people were such a good addition that made the book more interesting to read. Although I'd like to add that some of these photos were edited to make them look more scary. One of the exceptions is the main photo for pages 214-215 (Eerie Eateries, Spooky Salons), it was a bit cheesy and tacky. The Graphic Artist/s could have done a better job than that and made the images look more realistic and believable. I am a Graphic Designer and I saw the flaw in this book. I gave the review 3 stars because with all these edited photographs, the authors could have used the space for more text and information. I will give the authors credit for the great content of the book. Overall, the book is more interesting than scary.



4. Weird Hauntings by Joanne Austin is quite good for a book of ghost tale compilations. This is from the same team that does the entire "Weird" series of books (Weird U.S., Weird Arizona, etc.), and reminds me of the best of the books that I would find at my local library as a child with a voracious appetite for the macabre. Off the bat, the introduction by Ryan Doan in which he relates the fact that his father used to hide under his bed as a child starts off the bizarre proceedings on a wonderfully weird note.
   
   In particular, another value in the book is that it details investigations or stories from individuals that have not been repeated ad infinitum in other books on the subject. There is also mention of a few famous areas such as Alcatraz or Gettysburg to keep one interested as well.
   
   Well done: 5 out of 5 skulls



5. I found this book to be quite disappointing. It begins well with a very readable and page-turning first chapter but from there on things just go downhill and never really recover. Every now and then an interesting and believable scary story pops up but mostly it seems just like what you could expect to encounter if you took a class entitled Creative Ghost Story Writing For Beginners 101. It seems that an awful lot of the tales stem more from the imagination of the narrator than from some otherworldly realm. And not a few times I cringed in embarassment when a paranormal suggestion or explanation was offered for events that were so obviously nothing of the sort. If you like your ghost tales served up with credibility and objective research and investigation then this book is definitely not for you. Spared from a single star rating only by the heroics of Chapter One.

5 comments about Ukraine, 2nd: The Bradt Travel Guide.

1. The "Bradt" Ukraine book helped to make my decision to journey to Italy, Austria, Croatia, Hungary and Slovenia with the information from my "Lonely Planet" book. I have used Lonely Planet before and found it great with pictures of what can be expected at the various destinations. The Bradt Ukraine had a few pages of mediocre pictures in the front and compared to my reading of the destinations I have chosen to travel to, failed to fire my imagination - which is a terrible pity because I am of Ukrainian heritage myself.



2. I'm heading to Kiev, southern Ukraine and the Crimea this fall. This book has been a great introduction to the history of the region; I'll definitely bring it with me on the trip!



3. I bought book for forthcoming trip to Ukraine. Before packing it looked at index and was disappointed to find that the last page, 439 was wrinkled and had a hole 2 thumbs wide at bottom next to binding. I had paid more for a new book from Amazon and found this in worst shape than some used books I had ordered in past. Asfor reviewing book itself, I will do that upon returning from trip.
   JoAnn Aviel



4. Want proof that Bradt's got Ukraine figured out? Look at the relative absence of other travel guides for this fascinating country. Lonely Planet does one, but then again, they'd probably publish a guide to the Moon. Rough Guides, Fodor, Frommer, Cadogan, Footprint... nada. Bradt's got the market on Ukraine, and there's a reason for that: This guide is really good.
   
   It is a travel guide in the truest sense of the word. There's a definite emphasis on pragmatic travel information, at the slight expense of cultural and historical context that some readers particularly enjoy. It's not a text-rich cultural guide, a la Rough Guides, but a directory of good places to spend your time and money. The best part? It's accurate and authentic. You have the locals in your hand with this book, and you're armed with the kind of information that will make your visit to Ukraine rich, rewarding and real. The book leaves most of the historic context for you to discover on your own, but it points you in the right direction so you're not overwhelmed. There's a 100-page introduction to the country that is particularly good. The authors have written this section as something of a "culture shock" essay intended to give you the real, irreverent portrait of the country, with plenty of concise information that makes you feel like you're ready to relocate to Ukraine. They've painted the picture perfectly.
   
   The truly startling city of Lviv, former capital of Polish Galicia, gets special treatment, and should be on every itinerary in Ukraine. Visitors from crystal-clear Scandinavia or baroque central Europe may wonder what all the Lviv hype is about. Here's the thing: It's not just about frilly architecture. It's about recognizing that Lviv was once an enormously diverse, poly-ethnic, Austro-Hungarian frontier town, and it's essentially intact. Prague may be cleaner, but it's also more homogeneous. Lviv's position on the margins, rather than in the center of everything, is the source of its intrigue. Go there.
   
   There's more to this difficult country than Kiev and Chernobyl. Get out and see the places preserved in a pre-communist time warp (such as Lviv) before the word gets out and they become another stop on the expensive Prague, Krakow, Budapest, Vienna tour.



5. I actually live and work here in Kiev and I purchased The Bradt Travel Guide to help me plan some upcoming day trips as well as to get some updates on places of interest here in Kiev. And while the guide was obviously well researched for the first edition it seems to me that the 2nd edition was a rush job or maybe just lacking in its design.
   
   For example Bradt says that it's possible to travel on $75 a day - okay granted one should assume that amount is closer to $100 a day with inflation in the Euro and the cheapening of the dollar. The problem at least in Kiev - a very cosmopolitan city, is that many of the restaurants mentioned will cost you between $70 and $100 for a nice meal. By the way Georgian wine is very good and is available locally for about $8 a bottle so a glass of wine in a restaurant should not cost more than about $7 - my tip for those who read this! Also the local beers are all very nice and cost next to nothing - about $1 a bottle. There was not an effort to break down restaurants by cost range as was done with the hotels - most other guides I've used in the past do this and I find it really helpful. I was hoping for some new restaurant finds! And any restaurant that accepts major credit cards is in this class so beware if you're using this guide. Also, my specific need was for places to see that are close by but there was very little in that section for Kiev.
   
   Overall, I think there are better guides although not quite as new. One very good point is the availability of apartments at reasonable prices. With public transportation very reasonable - that means cheap!, all you really need to know is what bus/tram to hoop on to get you to either the nearest Metro or somewhere central like Independence Square.
   
   If you aren't sure about coming to Kiev/Kyiv, I want to tell you that I highly recommend it - the city is beautiful and the people are very nice. Ukraine is a big country and also very nice - I've been to the Black sea and to the Carpathian mountains so far and enjoyed them both although for very different reasons.

No comments about New England (Eyewitness Travel Guides).

5 comments about Moon Guatemala (Moon Handbooks).

1. Having traveled to Guatemala a few times, I considered myself to have a decent grasp of the sights. But my perspective changed as I purchased this most recent edition of Moon Guatemala. The author writes from a true insider perspective, giving insight into not only tourist sights, but also spots that are mostly known to locals. Anyone wishing to find the best food and nicest places to stay will need to purchase this book. Internet searches just don't cut it, as the hotel descriptions are often advertisements instead of reviews written from an actual critic.
   
   The maps in this edition are very helpful. They are drawn clearly and accurately, greatly easing travel from sight to sight. The guide also contains interesting tidbits and historical facts, which are entertaining to read and also help add significance to the various destinations.
   
   Concerning layout, it is formatted much better than any other Guatemala guidebook I have seen. Divided by various cities, the book is simple to navigate through, and points can easily be found. I really can't say enough about the quality of this book, finally a Guidebook to Guatemala done right. A must have for anyone interested in, or traveling to Guatemala.



2. After reading the other reviews, I was really excited to read this book in preparation for my trip to Guatemala. Instead, after reading this book, I feel less excited about the trip in general. There's a severe lack of interesting and engaging things to do and sense of the places in this book. I should have stuck with Frommers (who does the best travel books, IMHO)



3. I was excited to try a different guidebook brand after reading the reviews but this guidebook proved to be entirely worthless. It is only useful if you want to know where all of the bars & clubs in Guatemala are. If you want useful info (like how to travel outside of Antigua or where an ATM might be), it's useless.



4. The only problem I have with Argueta's Moon Guatemala is that it didn't come into print early enough. I loved my travels through Guatemala in fall of '06, but after picking up the Moon book I realized there is much more to Guatemala than what I experienced. Frankly, I find it unfortunate that I carried around several of the other leading guidebooks, yet missed out on a wealth of the country's offerings, especially beyond Antigua. The author's passion for the country shows through the insightful, thorough, and thoughtful detail, which just isn't found in any of the other books.
   
   Moon Guatemala has me excited to go back and experience the entirety of the country's richness, which in some sense I feel that I was cheated out of. I suppose an added bonus will be that my backpack is going to be considerably lighter when the single Moon book replaces the three other publishers I had with me on my first trip...my back hurts less just thinking about it.



5. Having just returned from a week in Guatemala, I bought this book because it packed a lot of information into its pages and seemed to cover all the bases, and then some. However, I found the information in the Moon guide to Guatemala surprisingly thin or just plain inaccurate with respect to what one really needs to know about a place. For example, Moon's advice on Antigua is unhelpful or outdated: the tourist office is located elsewhere; the restaurants deserve better descriptions; and the best shops are given short-shrift. Additionally, it doesn't deliver the good regarding practical information on excursions. For example, with respect to climbing the Pacaya volcano, it would have been nice to know all the ins-and-outs on entrance fees, recommended stuff to take to the top (don't forget those marshmallows!), and just how long the whole trips takes start to finish. I sometimes got the impression that the author was relying on second-hand accounts for his information on these places.

1 comments about Frommer's Thailand (Frommer's Complete).

1. This is the second edition of Frommer's Thailand I've bought. I travel to Thailand a lot and this guide book has helped make my travel more enjoyable. Not all the details are in the book, but it gives you the highlights of things and where to go, dine, and stay. I would recommend this book to any first time travelers or even your second or third trip to Thailand. Enjoy!

5 comments about The EatingWell Healthy in a Hurry Cookbook: 150 Delicious Recipes for Simple, Everyday Suppers in 45 Minutes or Less.

1. I am a registered dietitian & use this cookbook as a prize quite often. Recipes are simple, not too involved, don't call for a ton of ingredients and are well received. Many of the clients who have won it say it is their favorite cookbook. I like it because the information is clear/concise and it really is HEALTHY.



2. The book starts out with a brief section of instructions in case you aren't wholly experienced with home cooking. This includes planning ahead tips, grocery shopping tips, kitchen equipment you should have, how to approach your cooking, and even food safety concerns. Since there are plenty of inexperienced cooks who might be tempted to pick up a book of quick, healthy meals, this is a handy set of things to include.
   
   Recipe chapters include dinner salads; soups & stews; vegetarian fare; chicken, duck & turkey; fish & seafood; beef, pork & lamb; sauces; sides; and yes, even desserts. There are also some notes on substitutions & equivalencies. There are multiple indexes: a comprehensive index as well as one of recipes that take only 20-30 minutes (most in this book take 45 or less) and one of family-friendly recipes.
   
   I always have a hard time faulting EatingWell's other cookbooks for producing what I consider to be bland recipes, since there's a sizable audience for that kind of fare. However, I was incredibly relieved to find myself wholly enjoying the very flavorful recipes that we made from Healthy in a Hurry. There's a vegetarian chili that is surprisingly delicious, with a simple yet effective spice mix that adds a lot. Recipes range from the elegant (grilled lobster tails with nectarine-avocado salad) to the homey (chicken & white bean soup). These recipes make use of some wonderful international flavors to spice things up in recipes such as roast chicken dal and tandoori chicken with tomato-cucumber raita. The authors seem to have found a better balance between keeping the recipes simple (without using tons of ingredients most cooks might not have) while still interjecting flavor.
   
   Many recipes include mouth-watering photos, and the recipe layout is clean, plain, and easy to make sense of.



3. As a cancer survivor, I continually try to find tasty yet healthy recipes. (Trying to keep those free radicals at bay) This cookbook fits the bill, as well as the recipes being quick and easy for the most part.



4. Checked out this book from public library and knew I had to have it. Highly recommend.



5. I love the Eating Well magazine and cookbook - but most of those recipes are too time consuming to do after work during the week. Here is the answer - great tasting dishes for any night of the week.

5 comments about More Readings From One Man's Wilderness: The Journals of Richard L. Proenneke, 1974-1980.

1. This book follows the daily life of Dick Proeneke as he lives in his log cabin in the Alaska Bush. He lives delibertly in the moment and enjoys life and manual labor. He is a gentle man who loves nature and is very spiritual without being religeous, to me he is the essence of Zen ,but he probably has no idea what Zen is. Something in this short little series of notes in this book,is almost like medicine. Something that we desparately need in this society of fame chasers,greedy sychophants,capitalist consumers, a quiet little message ,powerful and direct. Dick Proeneke got one up on us...



2. This book, unlike One Man's Wilderness by Sam Keith, gives us Dick's own words. The editor, a friend of Proenneke's, honored his request that, if this part of his journal were ever published, his words and phrasing not be changed in any way. So what you get here is Dick's own phrasing and manner of speech - which is folksy and direct.
   
   Proenneke was disappointed that Sam Keith heavily edited his prose in One Man's Wilderness (which is obvious if you read both books) and he refused to have any more of his journals published without a promise that no editing would occur. If you are a fan of Dick Proenneke, this is the best and most authentic look at his life. It contains an introduction with a brief biography which, although short, is the only such work that we have.



3. This guy was amazing. His descriptions are wonderful and really make you feel like you know the guy. If you want to try before you buy it's also available at the NPS site in a PDF (www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/lacl/proenneke.pdf)



4. This book is a superb sequel to "One Man's Wilderness" and is excellent reading in its own right. John Branson thoughtfully answers many questions about Mr. Proenneke and provides numerous helpful footnotes tying together people, places, and events.
   
   Mr. Proenneke takes the reader to an amazing, but, as I know from having hiked and camped there, also a harsh wilderness. Through his day-to-day accounts of a life lived simply and optimistically, and in tune with his environment, he presents a compelling model for how to appreciate the world around us, whether a wilderness or a city.
   
   I enjoyed reading a few entries at a time. I look forward to the hopeful release of the remainder of the Proenneke journals.



5. 
   
   Superb Book !!! I agree this book is one of the best books on Richard L. Proenneke life - A+

1 comments about National Geographic Atlas of the Middle East, Second Edition (National Geographic Atlas of the Middle East).

1. There is a two page spread for each country with a map and basic stats for the country. Additional regional maps show info about climate, land use, population, religions, languages, oil, water, food, historical sites and various conflicts. There is a multi-page history timeline. The maps are similar to those in their big world atlas 8th edition but they are a little more colorful. This is a handy size to keep near your TV news watching chair. As with most Nat Geo atlas they print right up into the binding but with the larger atlas it lays open flat and this is a feature but with this smaller book you loose some data in the crease. There is a place map inside the front cover to easily locate each country's map.

1 comments about 101 Baseball Places to See Before You Strike Out.

1. I just received a copy of this book a few days ago and I've really enjoyed looking at all of the colorful pictures and reading the interesting and sometimes funny essays. Some of the sites I'll visit (like the Field of Dreams Movie Site), others I think I'll skip (like the courthouse where Joe Jackson couldn't say it wasn't so) but it's fun learning about them all. Good book for a snowy day.