5 comments about Florence and Tuscany (Eyewitness Travel Guides).

1. My husband and I are free spirit travelers that like to keep the planning somewhat spontaneous, yet still have enough planning to get the most from the experience. We enjoyed this book for providing enough history and background to provide context for the experiene. Plus this book (along with the help of a great GPS system) was great for mapping and planning the day. I actually used a friend's books for our trip and thought they were so great that I bought a copy for myself as a keepsake for when we returned.



2. The travel sections of most bookstores, particularly the larger ones, are awash in books about Italy, and in particular, the region of Tuscany. This is clearly too much of a good thing; take 10 of these books----and there must be closer to 20 of them----and you will find much duplication. How is a traveler, particularly the first-time traveler to central Italy, to know which guides are helpful and which merely rehash information that has been available for many years? One of the problems is that many of the guides issue a new edition each year in an apparent attempt to render last year's guide obsolete. Nonsense! I have some travel guides that are 15 years old and are still valuable. Keep in mind that the Etruscans were in Tuscany well over 2,000 years ago; their monuments and culture is not going to change much between 2007 and 2008.
   
   In short, this book serves a purpose but so do many others with similar titles.



3. We enjoyed this guidebook on our recent trip to Florence. It was comprehensive, easy to use, and fun to read. This publisher also offers a companion map and mini-guide book to use on the go.



4. Yeah, doesn't everyone? There is so much in this book outside of Florence and I really wanted to make the trek into the Tuscan hills around the city, especially to Pisa and Siena. But alas, I was trapped in Florence...and what a prison it was! Everyone should find themselves thus abused at some point in their life, I believe.
   
   This DK guide made the punishment a lot easier to endure, saving me time and headache by thoroughly breaking down specific areas of the city in detailed maps. From Palazzo and Ponte Vecchio, to the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore (il Duomo), and on to Brancacci Chapel and Santa Croce and everything in between. This guide gave me detailed information on each of the sites and helped enrich the experience. The exploded diagrams cover the finer points, giving the reader recognizable visual elements to look for along the way. This is so much better than words alone.
   
   Overall, I highly recommend this book...and the city itself. Florence is a place like no other!



5. We used this guide and found it to be excellent. We had several guides but this was the most complete and easy to use.

5 comments about Feasting on Asphalt: The River Run.

1. Great job of recreating the TV show on paper. Lots of great pictures and recipes. I wish he had done this with the first season.



2. As usual, this man knows how to grab you from the beginning, suck you in, entertain and educate you all at the same time. His descriptives take you right to the spot at that moment and absorb you. The first time I read it, I read it as a novel, but then I went back and broken it down and included the recipes with each section of the book and the flow was so smooth, so captivating, that you don't realize that this really is a culinary postcard from someone whom you've come to trust. And to balance the entire book, there were places where I laughed out loud - or agreed totally with a scenario from his childhood. To say that I totally enjoyed this book would be a huge understatement. Thanks, AB, well done as usual.



3. 
   If you watch Food Channel (FC) a lot, you know who Alton Brown is. He has a quirky little show. I must confess, he is not my favorite of those cooking on FC. But he does have an engaging personality.
   
   This book, though, is a little treasure, as far as I'm concerned. The opening foldout map shows the nature of his mini-Odyssey along the Mississippi River, sampling diners and restaurants as he (and his crew) cycle from the Delta to Lake Itasca. I'm an Illinois farm boy, so it was cool to see some of the towns from my home state on his map--Cairo, Alton, Quincy, Nauvoo, and Moline. And other places familiar to me from the Iowa side--Burlington, Muscatine, Clinton, Dubuque.
   
   The book begins with a nice little introduction on Brown's romance with "asphalt." Then, from state to state as the crew moves from Louisiana to Minnesota, eateries that they stop at are featured, and some recipes provided. Kind of a cool concept here.
   
   Some examples of eateries and recipes:
   
   New Orleans, Louisiana: Crawfish Bowl at Big Fisherman Seafood
   
   Greenville, Mississippi: Breakfast ribs at Jim's Cafe
   
   Memphis, Tennessee: Memphis-style turkey legs at Melanie's Soul Food
   
   Illinois and Iowa: Loose meat sandwich (Maid-Rite--In my home town,
   we had a Maid-Rite while I was in high school--Yummy!). Ground beef,
   onion, prepared mustard, water, Worcestershire Sauce, kosher salt).
   Despite my cholesterol level, I'm tempted to try this!
   
   Crosby, Minnesota: Parsley Bread from The (very quirky) Nordic Inn.
   
   There is a final description of Lake Itasca, where the Mississippi River begins.
   
   As one might expect from watching Brown's show, this is an idiosyncratic work. But it is a lot of fun and there are some neat recipes in here. But the Odyssey may be even more interesting than the recipes. Good eats? Good reading!



4. What can I say? It's Alton. Everything this man does is exciting, entertaining, and informative. Who else could give such a diverse cross-
   section of this part of American cuisine? Alton is my hero, and my
   kids have learned so much from his shows. This is a goldmine in a jacket.



5. I really enjoy Alton Brown's work, especially Good Eats. Feasting on Asphalt is a great companion piece to the Feasting on Asphalt television special. Alton has an easy writing style, that is very reminiscent of the way he speaks. There are many recipes in the book, as well.

5 comments about Rome (EYEWITNESS TRAVEL GUIDE).

1. The Eyewitness series is always superb.
   
   I won;t repeat all the glory heaped on this volume in other reviews, other than to say, apart from the superb cut-aways, sumptuous photography and enagaging text, what Eyewitness unfailingly delivers is USABLE, properly indexed street maps. Too many guidebooke provide sketchy maps where scale turns out to be a mere fantasy, missing minor streets.
   
   Sometimes I find Eyewitness books a BIT too heavy for the baggage allowance, so I wish the maps were included in some sort of detachable form. They really are better than those in other guides, and as usable as a "freestanding" map book.



2. Rome (Eyewitness Travel Guides)
   
   Eyewitness Travel Books are all we use! Very informative and easy to use!
   Recommend these books for your travels anywhere!



3. -- update: 'looks like there are 2 guides published by eyewitness; this is *NOT* the "Top 10;" it seems like several of the reviews below are based on that book, not this one. Be careful. --
   
   5 stars? Am I reading the same book?
   
   The book has an average of 4 pictures or graphics per page -- they're small and the text is squeezed around them. Some pages have 10 graphics or pictures. The whole thing seems like a textbook case in how not to design something to be user friendly.
   
   I found the text to be wanting, big time! I've spent a lot of time with Rome guidebooks, and this is clearly the worst of the lot -- sorry I spent the money. Even Fodors and Frommers are better than this. I recommend you take a look at Rick Steves (very plain, but good info) and Access (great idea of putting everything - food, hotel sights, together, block by block, but the seriies isn't what it used to be -- I think the company was sold a few years ago. The best I've found so far is the Rough Guide -- highly recommended



4. Look no further than any D&K guide for your travel needs, it covers everything and anyting; the guide divides any big area in sections and then suggests which routes, or attractions you must see; it also covers a historical background on them. From history of the city in question as to how to get there, how to use public transportation, basic conversation dialogues a tourist may encounter, places to eat, see, stay, do, it's all there.
   
   To me, there are no better guides than D&K guides. Recommend 100%.



5. Bad news first: this book has the issue of trying to cover too much in too small of a format and page count. As a result, you'll run into some cases where entries are text only. This is not too big of a deal, but sometimes a photo would really help identify a place when you're hemmed in by roads and buildings with little in the way of addresses to guide you. When in Rome, this can be a problem for the uninitiated.
   
   On the other hand, I found the descriptions, diagrams, and photos of the major areas to be more than adequate. I also found on several occasions that the guide pointed out little details (such as the location of Raphael's tomb in the Pantheon) that I would have missed otherwise. The restaurant and refreshment recommendations (save yourself some ground money by drinking from the aqueduct fountains) were right on - not a bad meal in the bunch. Which reminds me...if you like coffee, stop by Tazza d'Oro next to the Pantheon for a really good cup.
   
   To sum up, you cannot go wrong with this guide. Actually, all of the Eyewitness Guides I own - Rome, Florence, Naples, Venice, and Amsterdam - are essentially the same: not exactly perfect, but very good. Other than the minor issue of missing photos on some pages where it would have been useful, I can think of no complaint.

5 comments about Hawaii The Big Island Revealed: The Ultimate Guidebook (Hawaii the Big Island Revealed).

1. In planning a trip to the Big Island, I have read several books and information sources; Hawaii The Big Island Revealed: The Ultimate Guidebook is the best source of information on the Big Island. They give detailed inside information that even long time residents are unaware of. They rate restaurants independently and are not afraid to tell you which ones are bad and not worth your money. This book has saved me a lot of money, I went from feeling I needed to spend a lot of money on tours of areas, to feeling confident I could explore on my own with the information provided with such detail, it was like having my own personal guide right in your pocket.



2. With the purchase of Hawaii The Big Island Revealed I now have the entire set of "Revealed" books about Hawaii. I just LOVE all of them. To my thinking these books offer you an honest opinion of what to expect. The writer's opinion is fresh, honest, well written, and not biased by the hotels and/or travel companies. If you are going to visit Hawaii, and you want information that will absolutely make a difference in what you do - this book is a must!



3. I love this book! It's so thoroughly researched and detailed and covers everything you need to know about the Big Island, including what to do and how to get there. Find yourself in a tiny, tiny town on the Big Island and wondering where is the best place to eat? Ask the book. Want to know the history of and the kind of food served at a luau? Ask the book. Need to know the closest way to get from point A to B? Ask the book. Wondering why there are wild goats on the side of the road? Ask the book. Not only is the author thorough, detailed and incredibly knowledgeable about Hawaii, he's witty. I appreciated the humor and personal tidbits the author threw in. When he advises you to buy mosquitoes or risk the "bloodletting of your life", he's not kidding - he knows from experience! We took this book everywhere with us on this trip and it never disappointed. By the end of the trip I felt like the author was a good friend - just one that I've never actually met in person. I will definitely be buying the other Hawaiian island books for our next trips!



4. Best guide to the big island by far. None even come close. Not only details available nowhere else, but updates on line. This feature was very valuable as our trip included three days at the volcano and the eastern areas of Hawaii including Puna and the northern coast. Suggestions about restaurants and stops were consistently accurate and informative. Very helpful in planning a trip as well. Organization of t he book is supberb! If I were to plan a trip to Mars, Venus or the moon, I would search for a guidebook by these authors



5. Purchased this guide book for our trip to the Big Island of Hawaii and found it to be extremely helpful!!

5 comments about Rick Steves' Germany and Austria 2008 (Rick Steves).

1. Preparing for a trip includes a great deal about unknown tricks of the trade. Steves handles many of those issues at the beginning of the book, and sorts out others later in the book.
   
   The introduction handles issues of culture which I had not previously been able to fully grasp. For example, the tipping system of Europe is well explained, use of guides at cities is better outlined, the issue of bed and breakfast as opposed to hotel, and finally how to use the certain shortcuts - hostels, necessary drivers' id's, necessary insurance on rental cars, car leasing, and more.
   
   By the time I have reached page 30, I have some grasp of the culture. And, then off we go from port to town until he has told us "yep" or "nope" to the sights or sites which we have always heard about. Great clues and insight.
   
   I enhanced my reading with two other staples: Michelin and Lonely Planet. Michelin provides greater historical perspective, Lonely Planet provides more cheap angles. If you merged the best of those two guides, you have Steves. And, in a nice size.
   
   And, as he tells you - choose only a few guides. Read them all before departure, but lug only - at best - two. If that be the case, this is one I am taking for the road.



2. The tour book is very good. It provides enough detail and much needed opinions of tourist spots. However, I also purchased the map which accompanies the book and was disappointed in the lack of detail.



3. I am disappointed with Amazon policy. My order was shipped at two different times and I was told there wouldn't be a second shipping charge
   but there was and I had no way to complain to Amazon.



4. I love this book! It is very thorough on the major destinations' history and sights. It thoroughly explains things such as how to take the subway, how to interact with the waiter, and how to see the Opera cheaply. It has small black & white photos throughout which help give a feel for a place before you actually get there. He gives very detailed instructions on how to get around, even within a place such as Vienna's Kunsthistorisches Museum. I will be on an escorted tour but now I know that I could have planned my own trip with this book.
   
   I recommend borrowing one of "Rick Steves' Europe 2000-2007" DVDs from your library to see if you like Rick's style. (Don't miss the "Travel Skills" DVD!) Rick's books and DVDs are clearly aimed at Americans, so others will most likely prefer other guidebooks. Rick has clear preferences on where to go, so if you already know which cities and towns you will be visiting, be sure to use the "Search Inside" feature to look at the Table of Contents to be sure all your places are covered in this book.
   
   When Amazon briefly offered the 2007 version for $4.99, I jumped on it. I cut that one into cities for carrying around while sightseeing, because the sightseeing details are so good, and the history shouldn't change much!



5. Wonderful detailed info. Interesting off the beaten track stuff but sometimes you want to see the usual tourist stuff too.
   But we no longer stay at the hotels listed because we found one a bit too cheap and a firetrap in waiting.

5 comments about Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel.

1. I have barely gotten into the book, but thus far, it has proved to be an enjoyable purchase.
   
   We'll see if it actually does what it says once i start to travel.
   
   Right now, its time to make money for those travels, so we shall see.



2. Potts is very good travel writer and this book will serve as inspiration to travel. What it lacks is more the specific and practical aspects of how do the long term travel, such as to secure apartments, good places to go etc. His travel examples are mostly from his teaching job in south korea and seems to have less relevance for those who are travel vagabonders. After reading the book, I felt inspired, but didn't feel more informed about the vagabond travel process.



3. Having a passport since the age of two, I've had a severe travel bug for most of my life. This book is right down my alley, it's a mix of resources and philosophical insights to nourish the life of someone who wants to experience the world. It is not a guidebook in the sense that it will not answer all your questions. What it does though is provide you with enough inspiration, and encouragement for you to get your own adventures off and rolling. It is also a good testament to the reality that a richly lived life need not be exclusively the province of those with a richly padded bank account. A quick, and affordable read, hopefully it will lead to many adventures on the road.



4. I stumbled upon Rolf Potts in a National Geographic Traveler article, and I immediately ordered his book. Vagabonding is indeed an "uncommon guide" - a wonderful mesh of travelogue and travel philosophy. I really enjoyed the "Vagabonding Profiles" and "Vagabonding Voices" of each chapter. Potts' "Vagabonding" has fueled my Wanderlust fire like no other book.
   
   
   Cholera?............Seriously Rolf.



5. As a "wannabe" vagabonder, I found this book helpful and informative. I took it with me on a recent trip out of the states and found it both kept my attention as well as gave helpful tips and case studies.
   My next goal is to make long term travel a more permanent part of my life.

5 comments about The Most Scenic Drives in America: 120 Spectacular Road Trips.

1. This book is like having your own travel planner! It provides an easy to use, information filled, complete trip. This is my favorite travel guide!



2. Wonderful, wonderful book. It gave me details about places that I have never seen but would like to someday. The details are great and they all sound like wonderful places to visit. I fantasize about the places when my day is going bad and transport myself to a better place. Definitely buy it.



3. This is a good and simple guide to the principle things to see and how to do it. Recommended for family travel



4. I love to travel and this book will be a welcome reference for your road trips. Beautifully bound with gorgeous pictures, this book will please you for years to come.



5. This book is a great help to make beautiful trips trough the country! Good descriptions and maps of the drives. You can search tours in all 50 states. Beautiful pictures!

5 comments about Rick Steves' Rome 2008 (Rick Steves).

1. I took three books with me to Rome, and Rick Stevens was the best of the lot. I liked the history given with the must see sights. It was similiar to a top-notch self guided tour. The metro train info was very good, but not the bus routing. Since Rome is an easy city to move about, a better bus map would make this a five star product. I had to rely on the Eyewitness book for the bus routing. That is one thing that needs to be worked on in the Stevens book. Then it would not be necessary to have more than one book in hand. I highly recommend this guide.



2. The title of this review practically says it all: Rick Steves' guide is an excellent aid in finding about the opening hours, cost of tickets, locations of bathrooms and similar important things. On the other hand, its historical and cultural content is anecdotal and sketchy, and must be complemented by more serious publications, such as the Blue Guide, the Rough Guide, or the immortal "Companion Guide to Rome" by Georgina Masson. Steves' uncritical repetition of many canards about the Church and the Inquisition is quite jejune, just like his equally partisan pro-Jewish comments. Nevertheless, this book has definite practical merits and should be consulted by all future visitors to Rome.



3. This book is a very good tour book. I will be going to Rome on a budget and have booked reservations from his suggestions. The tour information is very thourgh. I was so impressed that I have downloaded the audio tours from his website [...] to an MP3 and they are also excellent.



4. We used this book to plan our hotels, and sightseeing. And once in Rome we used it as a tour guide at some sights and a dining recommendation. The dining recommendations were spot on, with one exception one of the places we wanted to try was closed. Rick Steves picks places that are affordable and good. We tried a random place in Rome and we were not pleased, so everywhere we ate, we ate a place recommended by him.
   
   The guides for the museum were excellent. He also provides audioguides and videos for many sights on iTunes as podcasts.



5. I feel this book is a "must" for anyone visiting Rome. Very helpful with sights to see, what needs reservations and when you should take a tour to avoid long lines. His suggestions were very helpful during our first visit over seas. I had forgotten the one suggestion about at cafes order at the counter and don't order from a table. It cost us 23 Euros for 2 small dishes of gelato and a light coke when it would have cost us 11 Euros if we had stood at the counter. His suggestions for the different passes you can purchase for sites to visit along with transportation forms saves you both money and time waiting in lines.

5 comments about Birnbaum's Walt Disney World for Kids 2008 (Birnbaum's Walt Disney World for Kids By Kids).

1. This book is a wonderful resource for elementary school aged children. My 6-year-old poured over this book before our trip to Disney and it helped prepare him for what to expect. Since returning from our trip a few weeks ago, he still looks at the book almost every day to point out things he remembers and what he'd like to do next time we go back. This book was completely worth the money spent on it.



2. BOUGHT THE BOOK FOR MY DAUGHTER (WHO'S 8) AND SHE IS SO EXCITED ABOUT GETTING SOME AUTOGRAPHS AND FROM LOOKING THRU IT SHE KNOWS WHAT THE BEST RIDES FOR HER ARE! GREAT PICTURES IN FULL COLOR-VERY KID FRIENDLY!



3. This book was an excellent resource for us when taking our 20-month old to Disney World. Originally we bought it for the autograph section, but it soon became handy for reading quickly about each attraction at the separate parks. The tips written by children themselves were also helpful. The book is softcover and lightweight - easy to carry in your backpack all day at the parks.



4. This book has all the answre's to questions on disney world. It's a fabulous book . It has every thing in it we need to know. We will definitely be taking this book to disney world with us, when we go in june.



5. My daughter and son both LOVE this book. It gets them excited and shows them a little of what to expect. There are real kids' opinions and reviews of rides and attractions. My daughter very much enjoys reading all about Disney! She'll definitely be prepared when we set off for our trip!! I would definitely recommend this book to anyone!

5 comments about National Geographic Guide to the National Parks of the United States, 5th Ed. (National Geographic Guide to the National Parks of the United States).

1. Very informative, very useful, good size for carrying it around,
   great book.



2. Es una guia fantastica, para recorrer los parques nacionales de EEUU y disfrutar al maximo lo que ofrecen.



3. Good book of national parks. Good practical information for the short term visitor (how many people have the vacation time to spend 2 weeks anywhere? not many i think) which is welcome to see. I'd recommend this book if you'd like to get a feel for where you'd like to go, what you might see when you're there and where you might stay. Once you've figured that out you might do well looking elsewhere for some detailed information, but for the casual visitor the basic information (10 - 20 pages per park) is great. I'd recommend this book if you're either someone who's like to visit a few parks or someone who's trying to work out which park to go, or someone who'd just like to flick through to see if there's something you hadn't considered before.



4. Totally awesome guide that rolls through the U.S. geologic areas and the parks occupied within. Nice 5-10 page look at each park, great photos, plenty of details regarding attractions, square miles, trails, fees, etc.
   Also includes historical details, geologic history, animals and habitat, tips on high traffic vs. low traffic tourist spots, etc. Wonderful book!



5. This book includes all the national parks in the United States (as of mid-2008). Note that there are a few non-traditional parks in the system such as Hot Springs, which nonetheless get the same treatment. It even has the national parks in US territories (i.e., outside the 50 states), although the park for American Samoa barely gets two pages.
   
   All in all, the guide is pretty good at giving you overviews of each park, with maps and information on each. It tells you usually what the main things to do in the park are and what you can do in a day or more. It is not a substitute for making your own plans, though, so do not rely on it completely. Someone suggested that web information is lacking, which is true, but it might be better to rely on the parks' web sites for up-to-date web information anyway.
   
   There are also excursions listed for many, but not all, parks. This makes sense because some NPs are close enough to each other that you'd be listing the same excursions. I would note that the distance to excursions varies greatly. I also wish they weren't so skewed in favor of national forests and wildlife refuges (not much emphasis on state parks), but these are nice to have.
   
   I would finally note that sites such as national lakeshores, seashores, preserves and monuments that would be of interest to readers of this book are not covered as it only covers national parks. Some of these are covered in a one-paragraph excursion description, but because this is a book on the parks that is all they get. My point is that there are many places in the US designated as other than national park that are worth visits, and to find out more about those you'll have to look elsewhere.