2 comments about Top 10 Dubai and Abu Dhabi (EYEWITNESS TOP 10 TRAVEL GUIDE).

1. I got this book as a guide for a five-day trip to Dubai, and it was extremely helpful. It is a small and skinny 128-page book, which meant it fit in my purse and could easily be brought out for quick reference to all of the remarkable sites of Dubai. It is easy to read with great facts and helpful travel tips. I highly recommend it for someone going to Dubai for a shorter stay - if you are going there for a long (over two weeks) time, you will probably want something that digs a little deeper. If I had one complaint, it would be that the maps of the Deira souqs (bazaar) area were not detailed enough. Dubai is not a walkable city, but the souqs of Deira can really only be explored on foot. If you get lost or turned around, it can be rather disorienting. That one portion of the city map could have had more streets listed to assist with that.



2. Great compact book about what and where to go in Dubai. Wonderful for the quick stop over trip to Dubai. Easy to read.

3 comments about Frommer's Boston 2008 (Frommer's Complete).

1. We went to Boston in April of 2008. It was a beautiful time to go. I know most people go to the Northeast in the fall for the leaves, but I had never been anywhere in the Northeast before, so we went in April. There are less people there than leaf time, from what I have read. The book helped us with all of our planning. My favorite part is the hours of operation listed for the attractions. That helps you plan ahead so you do not miss something because it is closed on Monday and you waited until Monday to go. I recommend this book, I used this publisher for our San Francisco trip too.



2. We used Frommer's in a recent train trip, and this was the first major city we visited on the trip. And it made me thankful that I purchased the editions for the other cities we later visited. I had visited Boston once before a decade and a half ago, but this time I had three children in tow. I wanted to make sure that we paced ourselves for the three days that we were there, and the book allowed me to do so. I was able to pick activities that the kids would like--including the Freedom Trail, a short 1-hour cruise to the USS Constitution, and Fenway Park. Frommer's has an excellent Freedom Trail section that you will want to keep your finger in as you walk along site by site. There were many excellent suggestions the book made about a number of things, including a short (positive) review about our hotel (the Midtown Hotel, which we were extremely pleased with in regards to location and price). Except for being wrong on some of the admission prices to some of the sites--just a buck or two--the book was fairly accurate in everything else we looked up, which I thought was pretty impressive. In addition, I recommend picking up an Entertainment book for your city--they're only $10 after the spring--as we used food and entertainment coupons in Boston that saved us more than $100. Two-fer-ones and excellent discounted fares made it more bearable to do a few extras, especially for us on a limited budget. Whether or not you've been to Boston before, I highly recommend Frommer's for getting around with the best possible information at your fingertips.



3. I purchased this book for a week of solo sightseeing before a friend's wedding. The walking tours looked great on the page, but were difficult to follow in reality and had very little information about each sight (luckily the most famous walking tour in Boston, The Freedom Trail, is marked by a red or brick line throughout the city so no directions are needed). I never found any incorrect information, but it all felt very cursory and left me looking online or calling locations for more detail. My primary problem with the book was the lack of dining information - it listed so few restaurants that it was nearly impossible to find one in my area and my price range at any given time. The best tip from the book was one that even my friends who visit Boston frequently didn't know about - the 7-day T-Pass sold at any ticketing kiosk offered huge savings for all public transport - only $15. I'm not sure there are a lot of better options out there for Boston guidebooks, so just make sure to gather some extra information before you go and avoid relying solely on this book.

5 comments about Frommer's South Africa (Frommer's Complete).

1. We visited South Africa for 20 days in July 2000, driving from Cape Town to Kruger. Before we left we sat down at a large book store and reviewed all their South African travel books. This one looked the best and proved to be very useful, particularly for accomodations. Some of the prices had changed but the standards and services were exactly as described. This is a great book for travellers who are above the backpacker/budget level but not up to "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous."



2. An excellent reference book for anyone visiting Southern Africa. We only found a few minor errors but the recommendations on where to go and what to see were very useful.

   We're looking forward to going again and will certainly take this book along. We didn't have enough time to see it all.




3. I travel extensively and am a fan of Frommer's guides which I generally find to have a nice assortment of options in varying price ranges. The volume on South Africa however, was a great disappointment. If Frommer's were to be believed, you had to pay $200 and up for a decent hotel room. Fortunately I have often traveled in South Africa, enjoyed its reasonably priced accomodations, and knew such prices were nonsense. I stayed in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban and other top destinations in season for less than half that much. The guide also overlooked destinations a bit off the beaten path and proved of so little use to me that I didn't bother to pack it home with me. I strongly suggest the Eyewitness guide instead or just surf the web for tons of great information from the South African Tourism Board.



4. I have been to South Africa before and am heading back and needed more information and this book is very thorough and helpful.



5. Just returned from a 2 week trip to South Africa - this book was very helpful in finding places to stay, things to do, how to keep safe, etc. I took "The Eyewitness Guide" with me too, but that book was not very helpful.
   
   I would also recommend you talk to someone who has been there and make sure you have local contacts. This is a crazy but beautiful country. Have a wonderful trip!

5 comments about Ethiopia, 4th: The Bradt Travel Guide.

1. I spent a month traveling throughout northern Ethiopia in July 2006 and cannot emphasize enough how helpful this book (UK edition) was for me. I ended up hooking up with another traveler who had the lonely planet for Ethiopia and Eritrea and the two were no comparison in terms of historical and cultural background and practicality. This was my first time using a Bradt guide, so I'm not sure if it was just a function of Philip Briggs' writing (informative, humorous, and down-to-earth) or indicative of the whole line, but I cannot recommend this book enough if you are planning on visiting Ethiopia.



2. Because I am planning a trip to Ethiopia this fall, I have been looking for travel and historical information on the country with little success. The Bradt Travel Guide, Edition 4, on Ethiopia was a welcome find. It is thorough, factual, and even has a few color pictures of important sites and fauna of the country. The chapter on culture and history and was just what I was looking for to give me background information before my visit. The three specific areas to which I will be traveling - Addis Ababa, Axum and Lalibela were thoroughly discussed.



3. The Bradt guide to Ethiopia is hands down the best guide book I have ever used for any country, and I own a lot of guide books. Briggs has a really engaging way of writing and I read the guide book like I would a novel. There are a few times during our trip when I quibbled with his description of the quality of a hotel, but by the time the trip was over, I agreed with him (ie, hotel quality is very much a matter of relativity in Ethiopia). I am only half joking when I say that we are choosing our next African country to visit based on whether Briggs has written a guide book for it.



4. A lot of detail. Have not read too much yet. We will be traveling to Ehiopia in early 2008 to pick up our adopted son. Plan to read much more before the trip. Wish there were a few more photos.



5. This travel guide was a wonderful addition to our trip. We were able to use it to plan out trip in advance, as well as alter our plans along the way (which happened quite frequently!). It was also fun simply as pleasure reading during car rides and during "down time." His advice on language was concise and very useful, and his perspective on cultural difference was excellent and refreshingly candid, without any hint of paternalism. Most significantly, Ethiopians we encountered vouched for the author's depth of knowledge: more than once, our new friends pointed at the book and said, "He really got to know the places--the hotels and restaurants-- that he visited." This book was a wonderful addition to a spectacular trip: Visit Ethiopia, and take this book!

5 comments about Traveler's Guide to Alaskan Camping: Alaska and Yukon Camping with RV or Tent (Traveler's Guide series).

1. Since we will be camping most of the time while in Alaska, this book is a great guide.



2. This is great for the RV's not so good for tent campers and Motorcycle Adventure tourers.



3. This is a GREAT book! I highly recommend it if you are planning a trip to Alaska. It is VERY informative and VERY detailed. I enjoyed it immensely and I know I will take it with me when I visit Alaska next year! Thanks to the authors for such a great book!



4. My wife and I recently came back from a 2-week RV trip from Alaska exploring as far north as Chena Hot Springs and as far south as Seward and had a wonderful time. This guide book helped us tremendously on our journey because it was easy to use, accurate, and comprehensive. If and when we do decide to return to Alaska for another trip, we'll be sure to buy the same guide and the latest edition.



5. This is a very detailed book that gives a very good sense for the various campgrounds in Alaska. It provides phone numbers for most places, and we were able to call ahead to check availability and if the wash facilities were available and to check hours of operation. GPS locations are also given for each campground. It also lists some points of interest around the area of the campgrounds. This along with The Milepost were invaluable.

4 comments about Frommer's Chicago 2008 (Frommer's Complete).

1. I grew up in central Illinois, and Chicago was always "the city." It's one of my favorite places to visit for professional conferences and even for vacations. This guide does a nice job in relatively few pages of outlining what to see, what to do, where to eat, etc. I (as one might guess) would have some different recommendations, but this little volume does a good, solid job.
   
   One of the cool things about Chicago is its buildings. Many historically important architectural gems are around, and most enjoyable to explore (e.g., early skyscrapers, Beaux Arts [e.g., the glorious Art Institute], Art Deco [e.g., Chicago Board of Trade], and so on)
   
   One nice feature of this volume is a series of day trips, to take in Chicago's sites over a one to three day period. I like the one day itinerary a lot, beginning with the architectural gems in the Loop area, the Art Institute, Millennium Park, to the Magnificent Mile (and the Hancock Observatory--I find it grand, but I'm scared by heights and talk about approach avoidance when I'm at the observation level!), to the wonderful Field Museum, to Wrigley Field (and the cursed Cubs--maybe this year??), and ending at Buddy Guy's Legends, with other steps in between. Such a one day trip would be exhausting--but what a wonderful introduction to Chicago!
   
   There's the usual suggestion regarding hotels (I might add to the list the Hyatt Regency on the river on Wacker Drive; its nice steak house, Stetson's, features large steaks and big, crunchy chunks of broccoli). Then, the listing of restaurants. Chicago is a grand venue for good eating. Fine steakhouses, nice Italian, and so on. Many good international restaurants. Go to Greektown, sit down at The Parthenon, watch the flaming saganaki (did I misspell this?), and order some good Greek food.
   
   The cultural life of Chicago is a strong point. The Art Institute, as already mentioned, is a gem. The Lyric Opera provides major league talent in its home, the Art Deco Civic Opera House. Then, one of the world's great orchestras--the Chicago Symphony--in its Michigan Avenue home. And on it goes.
   
   There is a nice foldout map, made of heavy duty material that lays out Chicago's heart nicely. It does not cover the entire city, but it does provide useful coverage of many of the sites and areas that visitors would want.
   
   So, I'm convinced. Next time I visit Chicago, I'll take this little volume and the map to help me identify what I'm going to do. . . .



2. Having never visited and with just two days in the Windy City, you can bet that Frommer's was in my hands. Actually, there are other good guides as well, but this company's guides have never disappointed. My family and I stayed in Oak Park, and there were excellent informative tidbits about Hemmingway and Wright. We learned enough from the book that we felt fully informed. On our second (and last day) in Chicago, we took the E into town on a cloudy, rainy day, so unfortunately we were not able to do everything we had planned--but that's Chicago for you, isn't it? We spent much of our day in the Art Institute--did I say my wife and I had three kids in tow?--and everyone had a fantastic time. We didn't go up the Hancock or Sears Tower because visibility was nill. We did stop by Wrigley Field, but I wish Frommer's had been a little more specific about the tours and thus mentioned how incredibly expensive tour tickets were: $25 a person, children included! (We visited Fenway the week before for only $12--not sure why the Cubs want to rip the fans off, even if the money goes to charity. We've toured more than a half dozen fields--it's my family's hobby--and never had to pay anywhere near $25. Needless to say, our budget wouldn't allow us to see the insides, a disappointment more to me than anyone. Oh well.) We also caught a White Sox game that evening and had deep dish pizza--yummmm. Of course, if we had more time and money, we would have seen more, but I feel that we had a good overall view of a very busy city. Without something like Frommer's in your hands, you'll probably end up wasting a lot of valuable time, especially if your visit is limited...like ours. So I recommend getting it and reading through it beforehand.



3. I nearly returned this book; it has a few morsels but in general I found the AAA guide to the region to be far more comprehensive, and free if you are a member. What I hoped for were candid reviews of hotels and restaurants, but see very little in that regard.



4. I gave this as a college graduation gift for an individual that was moving to the city. They love it!

5 comments about A Forest of Kings: The Untold Story of the Ancient Maya.

1. Of the various books available on Mayan culture that a layman has any chance of engaging profitably, this is one of the best. Detailed and well-organized, it presents a wealth of material on the subject, with plenty of accompanying illustrations that are well linked to the text, unlike other books which drop in pictures seemingly at random or which fail to explain why they are placed as they are. (Or, my personal favorite, those that assume you know why the picture is there, and what it's of, and don't bother to provide captions.)

   If you're not afraid of "tomes," this is an excellent book for you, though it's not an introductory text. I'd recommend starting with something a little more basic before you tackle this fellow. But once you've familiarized yourself with the lay of the land regarding the Mayas, you won't find many books that cover so many different aspects of their life and culture in such a deep, dense way. You can feel these authors' love for their subject.

   However, that being said, I must warn you this is a fairly dry book, and I am a reasonably tolerant reader when it comes to subjects I enjoy such as this one. It's chock full of great stuff, but its tone and style are heavily scholastic, so be prepared. It's still worth it. I have read any number of books thicker than this in a few sittings, but I found I retained more of the material and stayed more engaged by taking small bites of it over a few weeks.




2. I bought this book prior to visiting the Mayan ruins at Copan, Honduras. I found it a very useful guide to the Mayan world. I have a purely amateur interest in the Mayas, with no academic background. I wish I had this book with me when I visited Tikal, Chichen Itza and other sites in Mexico. The book devotes a chapter each to the major Mayan sites such as the two I just mentioned, Palenque, Copan, and others. It provides basic cultural information about Mayan language and social structure, interspersed with interesting if unconventional narrative passages in which the writers imagine what a day in the life of a historical Mayan figure might have been like. Some might be put off by these passages, but I liked them well enough. You can read the book simply for general cultural background, or take it with you on a stela-by-stela tour of the ruins. At times, there was a bit too much detail for my purposes, but I would rather have too much information than too little, and mostly the amount of information was just right. The book also provides a few portraits of archaeologists who have devoted their lives to uncovering the history of the Mayas, including some discussion of the cracking of the Mayan Code. It was informative and a worthwhile read, particularly if you are planning a trip to see the ruins for yourself.



3. What can I say...I keep on looking for engaging books on Mayas and this is just not happening. There is a LOT of info in this book but it is poorly written sadly. It is just a collection of academic data with no writing plan and no desire to grab the reader's interest. Very disappointing. I will keep on looking...



4. Great book to read after visiting the Yucatan. I can't get enough information and this book helped out alot.



5. Note: It looks like I have offended some Mormons who don't want you to read this book. Nevertheless, science won't go away. Your "helpful" votes are appreciated
   
   Schele and Freidel's book takes you into the mind of the ancient Maya, where bloodletting induced visions that opened doors into the world of pagan spirits and everyone had an animal "familiar."
   
   The description of the "War of Conquest" of Tikal (tee-kal) against Uaactun (wa-shak-toon) is riviting. It is fascinating that we know the name of the general of Tikal, "Smoking-Frog." At other places, we now also know the names of the Maya leaders. "Ah Zacol...governed Lacanja for Knot-eye-Jaguar, the king of Bonampak." Other names are equally strange. I won't list the name of one king because Amazon's filter's would reject my review. Anyway, his name was "p-n-s of the jaguar."
   
   I came to my interest in the Maya from my early encounters with Mormon authors who used specious scholarship to connect the Maya to the religious novel called the "Book of Mormon." Now that Maya writing has been deciphyered, all those false claims have been exposed. In many cases, the truth was known, but Mormon writers were engaging in the practice of lying for the Lord to promote their faith.
   
   When the Spanish first saw Maya art, they misinterpreted it. They named one temple, for example, the "temple of the cross." The cross-like tree was seen as evidence that the Maya were Christians. Now we know that in the case of the temple of the "Foliated Cross" that the cross-bar of the cross is actually a maize plant with a "human head as an ear of maize." The maize plant is growing out of the "waterlily monster."
   
   It was interesting to learn that the upright stone monuments, or stela, were known as "tree-stones" and the doorways into the temples were represented as the mouths of mountain monsters. The doorways are seen as caves into the mountain.
   
   "Bloodletting, the focus ritual of Maya life, was the instrument" of the materialization of other-worldly beings.
   
   The claims of Mormons and others that Stela B at Copan depicts elephant trunks was refuted even before the translation of the Maya glyphs. The trunks are actually the long beaks of macaws (you can see the colorful birds there today). The false claim is now doubly refuted because the writing on the stela refers to "macaw mountain," a nearby hill--not "elephant mountain."
   
   Mormons are still claiming that there is a horse carved on the Temple of the Wall Panels at Chichen Itza. It is actually a damaged feathered-serpent (one feather hangs down to make the so-called horse's head). In reality, the Maya were so ignorant of horses that when Cortes left his lame horse among the Itza, they fed it meat.
   
   The strange diet cause the horse to die and the Maya made a statue, calling it "Tzimin Chac," from the "Tzmin," meaning tapir (the animal most similar his general shape to a horse), and "Chac," the god of rain and thunder. When Father Urbita came to convert the Itza, he destroyed the idol at great risk to his life.
   
   The Book of Mormon connection to ancient mesoamerica is without foundation. As you go back in time, the paganism only increases. There was no Hebrew civilization in mesoamerica.
   
   This 500-page book belongs on the shelf on anyone interested in the mind of the ancient Maya.

5 comments about Thai: Lonely Planet Phrasebook.

1. This is an excellent phrase book, easy to carry, easy to read and broken into easy to find section. Combined with a short language program this book carried me across Thailand comfortably. I mentione the language program because the pronunciation is a bit tricky to break down phonetically, altho Lonely Planet does a great job of it. I have used lonely planet phrase books for all of Asia and Northern Africa, but I must admit I use Rick Steve's phrase books for European travel. Lonely Planet Guide Books are also very good, especially for the bargain traveler.



2. I bought this book before spending 3 weeks in Thailand last year. I only cracked it a couple of times and had difficulty deciphering the phonetics. However, having just completed a Beginning Thai course offered by my county's adult ed department the book makes a lot more sense to me and I find the grammar notes and pronunciation easier to understand. I am headed back to Thailand next week and feel a lot more confident that I will be able to communicate if/when I come across non-English speakers. But for as good as this book is, I agree with the other reviewer that it helps to at least take a basic Thai course or listen to CDs like Pimsleur so you can hear the language. And as others have noted, top marks for including the Thai script along with the English phrases so you can just point if necessary.



3. This is a great little reference book if interested in learning Thai. Using some kind of on line or person audio assistance is necessary since Thai is tonal.



4. I am a huge fan of lonely planet guidebooks however I am not a big fan of phrasebooks in general. I have this phrasebook and can honestly say that i have never used it. The problem with phrasebooks is that no 2 are alike. Different phrasebooks give slightly different pronunciations (and with Thai slightly different tones) but again this all has to do with translation from one language into another which is not the best way to learn a new language( acquisition is proven to be the most effective but takes time!). However with this said, phrasebooks are practical for people who do not have time to study a particular language such as Thai which is very difficult for westerners and lonely planet is just as good as any other phrasebook that I have seen on the market to meet the needs of holiday travelers.



5. I've been to Thailand twice now and am planning to live there for a few years. This book has taught me the basics and beyond. I recommend it because the tone marks and pronunciations are easy to understand and the book teaches you the rules so that you can figure out different variations of a word. There is also an English/Thai, Thai/English dictionary in the back and the book is small enough to fit in your pocket. Thai script plus phonetic thai is included. The only downside I can see is that the words are so tiny that it's sometimes hard to see thai script vowels and tonal marks.

5 comments about San Francisco (EYEWITNESS TRAVEL GUIDE).

1. DK Eyewitness travel books are some of the best on the market. You can glean more information from one of their books than you can from reading several offerings from their competitors. The full-color visuals, the detailed maps, and the interesting side-bars all add up to making this guide a perfect companion when planning a trip. If you're actually going on vacation, or simply dreaming of far-away places, this is the travel series for you.



2. I am a big fan of the Eyewitness series of travel books. The SF version was my first. I love the 3-d type maps and renderings of buildings as they add that extra dimension of familiarity when arriving in an unfamiliar place. The info is useful and accurate as any travel guide needs to be with the added value of the beautiful layout, photos, and images. The book becomes a souvenir of the trip!



3. I bought this book for a 4-day trip and needed an easy to use guide book, but it was a bit outdated (restaurants listings were not correct) and sight-seeing tips were boring and/or half-heartedly written.
   
   I liked the Eyewitness book for Tokyo, which had a light overview with useful pictures and maps. It complemented a Frommers book well, which had lots of useful information, but required more reading to get a good idea of a neighborhood. I think this book would also benefit from another, more well-informed book, as this one lacked the in-depth details on a particular sight.
   
   The layout was also very busy and distracting. A better layout, perhaps with selective use of color, would have been easier to navigate.



4. I used this to plan my family trip to San Francisco just a few weeks ago and it was SO useful!
   
   I've always enjoyed the Eyewitness books because of the wonderful color photo's and descriptions. This book is no different! I like to see pictures of travel destinations because it's helps to find and recognize it once I'm there. The book has all the information I needed to plan out our 9 day trip.
   
   It has a section of hotels, restaurants and stores, but being that there are literally TONS of them in SF, the book does not cover them all. It did give a great overview of the ones listed though.
   
   I will always look to the Eyewitness Travel books for other travel adventures!



5. This one is pretty to look at but a little light on practicality. We opted for others. For an illustrated colorful overview for what's in store if you visit, its worth a lookysee.

5 comments about Population: 485 (P.S.).

1. I was hoping to find some real insight into small town living. What i got was a long winded version of a story that could have been better expressed as a short story.
   I recommend reading the last chapter and skipping the rest.



2. MIchael Perry is a good writer. Any reader will feel instantly at home and comfortable reading one of his books. Population 485 accurately describes life in a small town. People know and care for each other. This emotion comes through in Population 485. If you want to feel good about the spirit of America, read this book.



3. From the little I'd read about this book, I expected some warm, perhaps funny vignettes about life in a rural town. This book is much more! It's laugh-out-loud funny: I read several passages to my family. It also gives an insider's view of the world of volunteer firefighting and EMT/ambulance work. The author uses an impressive range of voices--from "local yokel" to knowledgeable medical professional, essay writer, and lover of poetry. My favorite book of the year so far!



4. Since reading this book, Michael Perry has quickly become one of my favorite authors. His writing style is humorous but at the same time heartfelt and sincere. Population 485 is about Michael's return to his hometown and his adventures on the volunteer fire department. The people in the town are the characters and by the end of the book, you feel as if you've know them yourself.



5. Michael Perry's every page drips with humor, intrigue, and dexterity. He is truly a master of words! His simple country bumpkin way of life stands juxtaposed to his extreme intellect--a beautiful combination that makes his writing style quite unique and thoroughly enjoyable. Even if the story seems at times a monotonous New Auburn history lesson, one should read it for the sheer joy of watching Perry turn a phrase.