5 comments about The Walt Disney World Trivia Book, Volume 2: More Secrets, History & Fun Facts Behind the Magic.

1. Fantastic book! What you may have thought you knew...but didn't! An interesting book of facts that help you understand the making of Walt Disney World. A must have book for Disney mania! Volume 1 is just as interesting!



2. I purchased Lou's book after I had found his website when I was planning my latest trip to Walt Disney World. After looking at his site and even signing up for the forum, I knew I had to purchase this book I'd been reading about! And I am so glad I did. The trivia is fun if you're reading alone or if you take turns reading with a partner and it's multiple choice too. Even more, the answers are found following each section with a short statement to provide further information about the correct answer. What I really love about this book is that the layout makes it a simplistic read that doesn't get boring. Even though it isn't a guide book, anyone (or any family) planning to take a trip to WDW can benefit from the exciting learning experience the book has to offer. It is a must read for first timers and fanatics!



3. The Walt Disney World Trivia Book is like the friend I've always wanted who flies me down to Disney (for free!)and proceeds to take me through every park, attraction, and resort, telling me things I never knew about my favorite place. With a loyalty only a true Disney connoisseur can possess ("ever hear of some guy named 'Bugs Bunny'? Hmph. Me neither."), Lou presents his information the way I like it-it's personal, frank, and fun. Kind of like Lou himself...drop him an e-mail, and you actually get an answer! If there is one Disney informant to swear by, it's Lou Mongello. Some of his facts I knew, some made me laugh, and some made me realize that perhaps I'm not the Disney expert I make myself out to be. All I know is that those around me will have to endure new rounds of Disney fact-spouting. I almost feel bad for them. They had assumed they were safe after our (sniff!) last Disney trip in 2005. Although I shouldn't really mourn the trip's passing; with the WDW Trivia Book, I'm there all over again.



4. My son and I love this book and we've only read the first section. We can't believe how much we're learning and how much we didn't know. We're enjoying finding out all the "little" things we never knew about Disney World.



5. Just received the Walt Disney Trivia Books, Volumes 1 & 2. I've read through both and cannot wait until my next WDW vacation. Thank you, Lou, for writing the best Disney trivia books ever. Just one question, when will there be a third?

5 comments about The Lady in the Palazzo: At Home in Umbria.

1. What a wonderful book. What a wonderful lady. I read this book the month before my trip to Umbria this Spring and I've recommended it to my entire family and to all of my friends. Everyone I know who has read it has fallen in love with Orvieto! Orvieto is a fabulous place..and Marlena De Blasi has described it in fabulous detail...her friends, the countryside, the food and the wines. Not to mention what it takes to find and renovate a flat! I didn't want this book to end...and I know that its a book I'll reread every few years! Enjoy!



2. So many authors do one "hit" book and then start rushing out second-rate sequels to capitalize on the success of the first one. Well, not Marlena D.B. I've enjoyed all three of her books VERY much. The whole saga of dealing with Italian real estate in "Palazzo" is absolutely incredible -- and I loved her portraits of Miranda, Tilde and Edgardo (was that the Count's name?). Anyway, if you liked her other books, you'll like this one, too! Hope she keeps on writing.



3. Marlena de Blasi's writing just gets better and better. I loved her first two books but found this latest one the best yet. Marlena's beautiful soul really shines through in her uncontrollable need to befriend, nurture and "feed" people in her new home. Francisco still tries to hold her back and keep her within the cultural norms of Italy, but they both seem to have mellowed. Ms. De Blasi portrays wonderful characters and manages to relate something quite profound in the simple tale of finding a new home in Oriveto.



4. I read 1000 Days in Tuscany and found it lovely. This, I thought, was a bore. It felt as though she was just fulfilling the obligation of a trilogy and had to come up with something. Yes, her writing is gorgeous, but she writes of the mundane..no matter it is Umbria.



5. A fabulously well written story of their continuing adventures of living in Italy. Her observations of the idiocyncracies of the villages of Tuscany and Umbria are close to the mark and full of humor and "stranger in a strange land" frustration and successes.It is as lovely as her first book about Venice and meeting Fernando, and the recipes are the next thing I will want to try. Marlena gets better and better.

5 comments about Roadshow: Landscape With Drums: A Concert Tour by Motorcycle.

1. Despite what many others are saying, this is a great book if you're a fan of Neil's previous writings. This book is not a "Rush on tour" book, nor is it a glimpse into the life of a touring band. Rather, it's a long essay of a journey by a travelling man who happens to be in a band.
   
   I've noticed a lot of criticism of Neil in previous reviews of this book along the lines of why a famous guy would want to be so private. I don't presume to speak for him, so I'll offer this to the naysayers:
   
   Let him be him and allow him to interact with his fans on his terms.
   
   It's worked out well for the past 30 years. Notice in the book that his main rub with fans is that they always want more-more time, more attention, more of himself than he's willing to give. That's reflected and confirmed in many of the previous reviews.
   
   The main impression I get about Neil from his writing in this and his previous books is that he's a humble and private man. I'm can accept that fact of his character, and I'm glad he chose to share some of his life with his fans.



2. Let me say that while I enjoy Rush's music, I'm not what you'd call a hardcore fan (I own only six of their albums). That said, I very much enjoyed this book and Peart's adventures on the road.
   
   I have to disagree with others who have reviewed this book. I didn't come away from ROADSHOW believing Peart "hates" his fans . . . he is simply uncomfortable with the in-your-face attitude of some of the more fanatical individuals out there. Also, I don't see how his comments on the church signs can be construed as anti-Christian. I'm not religious by any stretch of the imagination, but his comments seemed harmless; a mere voicing of his own opinion.
   
   As for the book . . . I breezed through it in several days and very much enjoyed Peart's writing style. It's relaxed and flows nicely with wonderful descriptions of his travels. It made me want to load the backseat of my car with CDs and hit the open road. Peart's passion for writing and life in general comes through page after page. This is a guy who harbors a wonderful fascination with the world around him, and I'm thankful he invited us along on this enjoyable journey.



3. I really enjoyed this book. If you are a motorcycle rider and like music, you will enjoy this book also. Great book for the winter when you cannot get out and ride because Neal takes you on a motorcycle tour and the rigors of being on a concert tour with a band. I like this book better than another Neal Peart book, Ghost Rider for personal reasons.



4. Every Neil Peart book is better than the last. Don't get me wrong, I like them all, but he is making incredible strides as a storyteller with each book. His writing is so good now that you really care what he's going to have for breakfast in Denver, or if he'll change his bike's oil in Dallas or Oklahoma City. Simple everday things, for sure. But the prose are so riveting, he makes you want to know.
   
   I admit I'm a huge Rush fan, and I know that influences my enjoyment of his books. But I am also a published author, and I can recognize the work of a talented writer. His musical talents aside, Peart can write, and it seems that he's found a perfect niche in these travel memoirs.
   
   Even if you're not into Rush, give this book (or one of his other books) a chance. His books are hidden gems in the literary world that I fear may not be fully appreciated.



5. I found this book very interesting as I am intrested in my favorite performers lives. The only reason I gave it 4 and not 5 stars is because of the constant Christian bashing. It's obvious Neil is very bitter about Christianity for whatever reason. He never really tells us why. He did mention that after the tradgedies happened in his life that the Bible was no help. He quotes all the church signs he comes across in his journeys through the US. I agree that some of them were over the top but others had a good message. As a Christian myself I am praying for Neil. I pray God will change his heart and turn his face toward Christ.

5 comments about Hiking North Carolina, 2nd: A Guide to Nearly 500 of North Carolina's Greatest Hiking Trails (State Hiking Series).

1. I am the editor of a newspaper in North Carolina and I write a monthly travel column. I picked up a handful of North Carolina travel guides to review, and this one happened to be in my stack.
   
   I have to say -- I had high expectations for this book. A quote from CNN.com is printed on the back. Falcon Guides are, "written by top experts and enthusiasts." It's an official American Hiking Society book.
   
   I expected a lot -- and that's what I got.
   
   This book, in short, is amazing. The introduction is lengthy and goes over things you may need, safety information and more. Each trail begins with a one-sentence overview so you can quickly tell if it's not for you, then continues to have easy-to-find points about its general location, detailed information about finding the trailhead, distance, difficulty, best maps, elevation gain or loss, water availability (!!!), and a phone number and Web site link (finally, a guidebook that has realized we entered the 21st century seven years ago and, 9 times out of 10, we want a way to get valuable information without actually speaking to someone).
   
   Following this, each trail features GPS compatible maps and an extremely detailed 1-4 page description of the hike you can take, in addition to pointing out things you might miss along the way (Spanish moss, anyone?) For example: "If you linger over lunch [at the Linville gorge trail] and scan the rock-hewn amphitheater, the start of Linville Gorge, you can imagine the hemmed-in feeling William Linville and his son must have felt near here in 1766 when confronted by Native Americans -- who then scalped them." Wow.
   
   The only con of this book is its title. While I tend to despise the recent trend in the book industry of making titles as long as the books themselves with all sorts of never-before-seen punctuation, it really might be necessary here. People with an interest in walking, trail running, picnicking with their families, educating their children or moving around in any fashion should also pick up this book. The fact that the guide book appears to only encompass hiking may cause many people to skip over it. But take for example the Flat Rock Self-Guiding Loop trail (page 129) near Linville, an educational trail with plant identification signs, inspiring messages and areas to picnic -- perfect for a day out with children.
   
   At $19.95, it's a little steep -- but it's worth it if you want to spend any part of your vacation outdoors.



2. Any traveler to North Carolina will be able to use this helpful guide to the state. It's full of information on numerous trails, including educational ones perfect for the family.



3. This was a good book for a general description of several trails in North Carolina, but didn't give many details. I think I was looking for something that would give me enough information to pick one trail out of them all to visit, but the brief descriptions didn't give me enough to go on. If you already know which trail you want to trek and it is one of the trails covered in the book, you're pretty well set. You will, however, need another map to know exactly how to get to that particular trail...the book has a map with a general location but no specific driving information.



4. Mr. Johnson's "Hiking North Carolina" is a guide for hikers by a lifelong hiker in the North Carolina High Country. North Carolina has hundreds of miles of hiking trail, and Randy has hiked most of them himself. The one risk of writing a guide about something you love so much, is to ruin the sense of adventure by including too much information. On the other hand, I have been hiking long enough to remember guides that would allow you to barely find the trailhead, much less give you good information about the trail and what you will encounter. There is a fine balance between a guide that tells too much, like the Appalachian Trail guides, and a guide that says too little, like some I see in popular magazines. I believe that Mr. Johnson's guide strikes a good balance between the two; telling you what you need to know while preserving the sense of adventure in the experience. It's the adventure that draws us into the woods after all. I recommend this guide for anyone who is interested in hiking in the state. His maps are quite detailed and well drawn, and his trail descriptions are enough to get you where you want to go without spoiling the fun of discovery. It is an excellent work and well worth including in your outdoor library.
   
   Robert Branch
   Burnsville, NC



5. This is an excellent resource and planning guide. I have nothing to add to the earlier reviews, most of which are 5 stars.
   
   The lack of GPS coordinates of the trailheads is the one glaring deficiency and the reliance on another map resource is no substitute. The copy edit staff should have done their homework and inserted this information, since it could be done from their desks. It appears instead that they put their efforts into misleading advertising -
   
   "Detailed trail descriptions, and GPS-compatible trail maps"
   
   Nevertheless, I have since purchased extra copies for gifts.

5 comments about Florida's Living Beaches: A Guide for the Curious Beachcomber.

1. This is a great little reference book for anyone who will be visiting the beach or even wants to. It is very high quality w/tons and tons of pictures, so I was glad to pay such a small price for it, especially since I didn't know it would be this good when I bought it. It tells about all sorts of things that may grow or wash up on Florida beaches. Most people think of the obvious, but this book has so many things and animals that I've never seen or even heard of before. It also tells you whether or not things can be touched, as in whether they are poison, sting, etc or not and what parts of Florida the things can be found in. It even tells the different types of shells, which is always nice. I wished it could've provided some more detail on some things, but for the amount of things included in this book it would've been hard to provide extensive detail. It provides all that you would need to know about most things. I would recommend this to any marine lover or anyone that visits the beach often. It is really helpful to know about some of this stuff before you go out and encounter it.



2. I recently moved to Florida and was interested in learning what nature had to offer here. So, I went to the library and borrowed this book. Well I loved it so much, I came home and purchased it. Now we can take it to the beach with us and identify everything we see. It's in a very organized format and contains all the information any family can use. The grandkids learned a lot from it too. Very nice. I highly recommend it.



3. 
   I recently spent lots of time beachcoming on Florida's gulf coast and found this to be an invaluable resource for identifying a lot of the shells, corals, fossils and other fun stuff that washes up on the beach there. I checked it out of the local library, and then decided that I definitely needed a copy of my own. Great book for a serious beachcomer!



4. A great one-for-all book. The photography and information are outstanding. No need to haul around multiple books.



5. If you've picked-up shells off of Florida's beaches and wanted to be able to identify them, then this book is for you! It offers great descriptions and photographs to assist you in being able to easily identify the shells and other things you find on the beach. I highly recommend this book! It's got a wealth of information "...for the curious beachcomber:)"

4 comments about Pocket Map and Guide Rome (EYEWITNESS TRAVEL GUIDE).

1. We will be going to Rome soon, but we will not carry this item in our luggage. Why? It looks like good data but we could not read the tiny print. We had to pull out a magnifying glass to read anything. I am dissappointed.



2. Lots of pictures. Great concise descriptions. Maps. Small glossary of Italian. Organizes everything in a clear way. Perfect! Thought I was going to get another larger version of a travel guide for Rome but not anymore. It's all I need. If I do find something that it's missing I can look it up on the internet. The only thing that might be hard for some people is the small type. I have 20/20 vision and can read it perfectly. No problem whatsoever. But if you have vision problems you might find it somewhat hard to read. Its about the size of a Hershey Bar and jammed packed with information if that gives you an idea. I love it though!



3. We'll be cruising to Rome and only spending one day there. This guide is the perfect size for what we need - info on all the main sites, maps, travel information...without having to pay for a more expensive / comprehensive guide designed for longer visits. It's still packed with information...it even has a small phrasebook in the back. It's smaller than I expected, which is a good thing. They've really packed a lot of information into a totally portable guide...dining, street maps - it's really adorable, actually! I was hesitant to order because of the previous review that the text was too tiny to read. For me it's fine; I don't find the text size all that different from the regular Eyewitness guides. And you can't beat the price! Since we are going to several cities in Europe, I was even able to combine 4 books for the price of 3 with Amazon's promotion.



4. I went to Rome on very short notice, not having the luxury of doing much planning prior to my flight. I used this guide every day; I found it to be very handy for getting around and seeing the most popular sights.

5 comments about John Muir Trail Map-Pack: Shaded Relief Topo Maps.

1. I purchased this Tom Harrison map set to thru-hike the JMT. At the same time I ordered the maps from the national park service. The T.H. maps are thin, tearproof, waterproof, lightweight and they pack down into a small size. The NPS maps are paper, they tear easily, they'd be damaged easily by water, and because they cover the 3 parks/national forests, rather than just the trail, they are about 10 times as large and heavier. When I go hiking later this year, the T.H. maps are coming with me. The NPS maps are staying at home.



2. I've used the same set of Harrison's JMT maps a couple of times now, the first hike took 30 days and second took 18. They're durable, for sure. The scale (1:63,360) is appropriate for the set of 13 8.5"x11" maps - if you really, really hustle you can hike a map per day. The size means you don't have to unfold a huge sheet of paper each time you want to check where you are. The mileage between waypoints on the trail is clearly marked. The maps don't have the detail of 7.5-minute USGS maps but you wouldn't want that kind of detail for this hike. Harrison also has some larger maps, e.g., "Sequoia & King's Canyon Nat'l Parks" with a 1:125,000 scale but the size is inconvenient for the JMT hike. Conceivably you could scissor his larger maps to make a map of the trail but since he's already done the job about perfectly, why bother? (Incidentally the JMT runs between Mt. Whitney and Yosemite's Happy Isles, so being disappointed at not getting a Mexico-to-Canada map doesn't make very much sense.)



3. If you are planning on hiking the JMT, buy this! It is EXACTLY what you need and no more.



4. Tom creates the best maps around. I don't know he does it all by himself. I love having the UTM grid on each page. Each of the 13 pages has just the right amount of detail for my through hike. I think you would be foolish to do the JMT without these.



5. In comparison to the National Geographic Trail illustrated maps Tom Harrison Maps have more user features such as more trail mileage markers and they are slightly more detailed scale. I like the colors of the Natl Geo maps better though. I really like how he's broken his JMT maps into one day's worth of hiking so that you only need one sheet out at a time.
   Note this map pack is centered on the JMT if you are looking for other hikes near the JMT or the connector trails to the various trailheads there is very little additional coverage. If you are actually hiking the JMT only they are excellent.

5 comments about Montana Atlas & Gazetteer.

1. Overall, this wasnt quite what I was hoping for. It was less than extremely informative, though some parts I found helpful. My advice: look somewhere else.



2. They tried to squeeze too big of a state into too small of a book. Detail is not on par with other atlases in this series. Should have been divided into an east and west set.



3. This atlas, like all the Delorme atlases of the states, shows in clear detail every possible feature of the areas: roads down to dirt paths, rivers and streams, railroads, and the contours and elevations of the land. Placenames are thoroughly listed, as are parks, campgrounds, and recreation sites for hunting, fishing, hiking, and biking. This is an excellent all-around reference work.



4. When I received my copy of the Gazetteer I found 4 pages missing and 4 other pages duplicated. I ordered two other Gazetteers for Wyoming and Idaho at the same time and they were OK but since I discovered the problem while on our trip, the Gazetteer I purchased for Montana was effectively useless.



5. These Delorme Atlas & Gazetters are wondeful. They show you many features not available through GPS, maps or other atlases. It is a great feature to have the BLM lands marked as well as the back roads. Good resources are also included in each states atlas. A good addition to anyone's travel tools.

3 comments about Newcomer's Handbook for Moving to And Living in the San Francisco Bay Area: Including San Jose, Oakland, Berkeley, And Palo Alto (Newcomer's Handboks).

1. We found this handbook to be very accurate and very helpful in our move to the bay area. The writing style is clear and easily digestible.



2. The Newcomer's Handbook for Moving to and Living in the San Francisco Bay Area covers just about every aspect of living in and around San Francisco. I mean everything! Including "Moving and Storage," "Getting Settled," "Children and Education," "Sports and Recreation," "Transportation" and everything in between, this thick book answers almost any question about San Francisco.
   
   The introduction to the book is just as cool: "San Francisco is the land of the 49er Gold Rush, the Great 1906 earthquake, and the missionary expeditions of the Spanish; it is the birthplace of Levi's jeans and home of the railroad tycoon Leland Stanford; it is host to one of the greatest feats of engineering, the Golden Gate Bridge, and as a cultural epicenter, it fueled the hippie flower-power revolution, gave rise to Rolling Stone magazine, and played host to beat generation poets." Geez, now I want to move to San Francisco!
   
   This guide to "America's melting pot" provides information about the local lingo, so you will not feel too much like an out-of-towner. For example, "The Haight" is the famous Haight-Ashbury neighborhood, "The City," always capitalized, "is the way natives and local newspapers refer to San Francisco" and BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) is "the under-and-above ground subway-style train network that connects the East Bay and peninsula with San Francisco."
   
   This guide also provides detailed information concerning the many municipalities of San Francisco, including web sites, area codes, zip codes, post offices, police stations, emergency hospitals, libraries, public schools, community resources and public transportation. The "Cultural Life" section is also pretty cool, providing tons of information about film festivals, music, theater, ballet and dance, restaurants, nightclubs, comedy, art, museums and anything else you can think of. San Francisco is one cool town, and this book is undoubtedly the perfect guide to moving there!



3. My husband was recently transferred from Kansas City to San Fransisco, so when I saw this book for newcomers to the Golden Gate city, I just had to have it! It is such a great buy, as it contains all of the information that we want to know before we move there. It tells the history and atmosphere of the different neighborhoods there, along with many other pertinent facts. This well-researched and accurate book with maps is all one needs to feel at home in San Fransisco!

5 comments about Frommer's Maine Coast (Frommer's Complete).

1. This book helped our family find great places to stay overnight instead of the typical chain hotels. My husband found his new favorite restaurant in Portland off of the suggestions in the book. It was an out of the way restaurant and we would have never found that great find without the Frommer's book.



2. We referred to this book frequently during our stay in Acadia. We didn't find any errors or misinformation, and so I'm giving it the highest rating because it served its purpose well.



3. I live on the coast of Maine and have many requests from friends to visit during the summer and fall. I always send this book out before my friends arrive so that they can see everything the Maine coast has to offer and so that I can adequately make a plan for them to see the things that matter most to them. It is an invaluable guide and it "spot on" with descriptions.



4. I purchased this as a gift for someone moving to the Maine coast. Frommers has always been helpful to me when I move to or visit a new region.



5. This is an outstanding book. We used the book for all of our reference points for Bar Harbor and the surrounding areas. I would recommend this book to anyone who is not familuar with Maine and all that it has to offer. Buy the book and use it to plan all of your activities and places to eat.