5 comments about The Smart Traveler's Passport: 399 Tips from Seasoned Travelers.

1. Contains some good ideas -- most of them related to how and what to pack. Unfortunately the majority of the tips are rather specific (e.g. how to save some money when in a specific town) and don't really seem fitting for a book with general advice. Guess this kind of information would make more sense on a web site, but it's good reading when stuck at an airport.



2. Hard to find specific tips, as no index nor organizational sequence by topics. Is very random, and while I have found good suggestions from the magazine issues, this is just too random to be of great assistances



3. I recently checked this book out from the library in preparation for an overseas trip. I found so many useful ideas that I checked out the book again a month before the trip before finally deciding I should just buy it! It's certainly paid for itself in money, space, and time savings!



4. What's in the book? Nothing but short snippets of useless info. Don't let the budget travel brand lure you into thinking that this is a quality book. It isn't!!! There's nothing here that you probably don't already know.I truly like the following book as it's gotten me up to the 1st class cabin. The Penny Pincher's Passport to Luxury Travel: The Art of Cultivating Preferred Customer Status (Travelers' Tales).



5. The Smart Traveler's Passport allows travel 'newbies' as well as travel veterans to quickly and easily locate user friendly travel tips. The format is great for those who want fast facts without slogging through long paragraphs. The authors have gathered travel tested suggestions from many people and compiled them into an easy to read, helpful book. Ideas range from travelling to another state to trekking across foreign lands. You'll find hints for packing for road trips to finding freebies in London. The chapter headings are well thought out and specific topics easily located. This book is an enjoyable read with plenty of "AH HA!" tips and I found several of the suggestions just plain fun!

5 comments about The Travel Book: A Journey Through Every Country in the World.

1. This book is supremely cool. The photos are amazing - simply breath-taking.
   
   4 stars instead of 5 because in the paperback edition, the binding will crack if you actually read the book more than once.



2. This book is fantastic for the travel lover. Beautiful, colorful pictures highlight each of the countries. I saw countries I thought I knew well in a whole new light!



3. Perfect. Nice to know at least a little about each country you have heard of,knowing you will never get there to see it in person. Pat



4. This book gives a clear view of different countiries of the world. It gives suggestion of places to see and the best times to see them. Not only is it informative but a wonderful coffee table book aswell



5. I just received my book and as many reviews state, yes it has wonderful pictures but as far as detail for a travel book, not something that you would want to use as a referance book. It's better for the coffee table than for anything else. I would recommend this for someone who does not travel as it is essentially useless to someone who goes out into the world and sees it for themselvs. I have been to 16 countries and will be going to 7 more and the only thing that I liked about it is the pictures and how it describes American cities as dangerous. As many travel agencies and airlined caution, you are now entering the United States of America.

5 comments about A Year in Provence.

1. Over a decade has passed since A Year in Provence was published but time has not dulled the images, humor or humanity of Peter Mayle's wonderful story of an English couple's misadventures as they seek the good life in Rural France. The people, the food, and the land all come alive as the Mayle family struggles to rebuild an old farmhouse and blend in with the locals. This is the book that re-ignited interest in one one of France's most beautiful and gracious regions.



2. The fault may be mine. I think travel diary is just not my genre. I appreciate stories driven by plot and rich characters (the only rich character in this story is the food!). I kept asking myself where the book was heading, but basically it was just heading to the next dining experience, home improvement project, or inconsiderate guest. If I hadn't been reading the book for a book club meeting, I never would have bothered finishing it.
   
   That being said, the writing does flow nicely. The book is well written, and some of the experiences are fun to read. If you enjoy travelogues, you will probably enjoy this book.
   
   Warning: If this book were a movie, it would be rated PG-13 due to one strong expletive that blindsides you as you are reading along.



3. This is a very well written book. I like the sense of humor of he author. If you like food, you'll like this book. Food seems to be a major theme. It has very good descriptions of the area and the people. I felt like I was living there and getting to know their neighbors along with them.
   I also enjoyed "A Good Year". More quirky humor and a great date film.



4. This book was a wonderful journey for me. I have traveled in the South of France and remember how beautiful the region is, yet how different its people are from a cultural standpoint. This is a fantastic read for anyone who wants to learn more about French culture, especially Provencal culture. For an interesting look at Parisian culture, I recommend "A Year in the Merde" by Paul West.



5. A Year in Provence begins with New Year's lunch and ends with Christmas lunch. Between the two meals is a memorable year full of characters (from eccentric neighbors and affable builders to aged chefs), forays into the countryside, unwelcome visitors, the Mistral, and, of course, gastronomic delights.
   
   Without explanation, such as how they can afford it, Peter Mayle describes how he and his nameless wife buy an old farmhouse in the Lubéron, insulated from the greater world and from change by the public lands that surround them. With dry English detachment, Mayle settles into a life ruled not by the minutes of commerce ("time is money") but by the seasons and the opportunities each brings, whether it's goat races, boules, or fresh olive oil. Although puzzled at first by what the people do when the bitter winter Mistral blows, Mayle soon figures out that even this depressing and confining season has its products--babies.
   
   To their credit, the Mayles seem willing to accept and adapt to the Provence pace of life rather than expecting to find the urban English experience to which they are accustomed. They accept that the builders will return tomorrow "normalement" and don't fuss when "tomorrow" is weeks later. Rather than becoming demanding and ugly, which would achieve nothing, they come up with a plan that motivates the builders to complete the house by Christmas. They choose to live in Provence on its terms, not theirs.
   
   Mayle expertly portrays the foibles of each person he meets. As a farmer, his neighbor Faustin is ever the pessimist, seeing future clouds on sunny days. "As if his life were not already filled with grief, Nature had put a further difficulty in his way" (that is, the table and wine grapes have to be picked at separate times, giving both crops the opportunity to go bad).
   
   Another neighbor, Massot, could be the stereotype of the American mountain man, mistrustful and fiercely independent. Of his fierce Alsatians he says, "They wouldn't be happy in a town. I'd have to shoot them." Mayle adds, "He turned off the path to go into the forest and terrorize some birds, a brutal, greedy, and mendacious old scoundrel. I was becoming quite fond of him." Mayle doesn't pass up an opportunity for irony. Massot says, "Every summer they [Germans] come here and put up tents and make merde all over the forest" as he tosses an empty cigarette packet into the bushes. Later Mayle talks about, "The Belgians . . . to blame for the majority of accidents . . . forcing the famously prudent French driver into ditches."
   
   The author does not spare himself. Hearing shots and hoping that the local grocer had missed killing a sanglier, Mayle says of the French countryman, "Let him worship his stomach; I would maintain a civilized detachment from the blood lust that surrounded me . . . This noble smugness lasted until dinner [a wild rabbit] . . . The gravy, thickened with blood, was wonderful."
   
   When Mayle isn't chatting with the neighbors, being advised by the local plumber-musician, despairing over how to move his heavy stone table, entertaining friends of friends and obnoxious advertising executives, or watching goat races, he is, of course, eating. He and his wife find culinary wonders in the "good, simple food" served inexpensively in the restaurants they visit. ". . . artichoke hearts, tiny sardines fried in batter, perfumed tabouleh, creamed salt cod, marinated mushrooms, baby calamari, tapenade, small onions in fresh tomato sauce, celery and chick peas, radishes and cherry tomatoes, cold mussels"--and those are just the hors d'oeuvres, served with "thick slices of pâté and gherkins, saucers of olives and cold peppers."
   
   When it comes to food, Mayle's favorite adjective is "fresh," which captures difference between life as most of us know it and the charm of Mayle's life in the Lubéron. Pressed for the time by the pressures of suburban living, commuting, work in the city, and our consumerist culture, and detached from the land, we eat food that is packaged, preserved, and transported, and then sold to us at a time and distance from when and where it was produced. Most of us live and eat well, we believe, but at the price of stress and at the cost of the pure enjoyment Mayle finds every time he dines in Provence, where bread is launched "into a sea of fish soup" and "it was as if the sliced, wrapped, machine-made loaf had never been invented."
   
   I began A Year in Provence out of curiosity about its popularity and soon found myself living vicariously through Mayle, savoring not only the food and the beauty and rhythms of the countryside that produces it, but the companionship and consideration of each person they meet. As Maurice, the chef who finds a way to provide the powerless, desperate, and grateful Mayles with their Christmas meal "at a tiny table between the kitchen door and the open fire, next to a large and festive family," says, "It's not the day to be without an oven." A Year in Provence shows how richly rewarding even a simple life can be when accepted on its own terms, without ego, assumptions, or demands.

5 comments about Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage.

1. Utterly astonishing book, that builds and builds, leaving the reader in near disbelief at the display of sheer will-power, persistence---and yes, endurance--of all these heroic survivors. After reading this, I went and read the several negative reviews here, and while at first I was puzzled and of a polar-opposite (pun intended) opinion, I quickly came to see how worthless said reviews are, when considering the sources, with their concomitant, atrocious grammar and spelling. One can only conclude that such reviewers, being more familiar with the "airport fiction" genre, are persons unfamiliar with the reading of history, true-life narratives, or maybe even of reading itself. Seriously, even a fictionalized account could hardly have been more gripping, especially toward the mid-point of the book and onward. The fact that this was real makes the book all the more fascinating and riveting.
   Indeed, the book does not begin by suddenly plunging the reader into break-neck-pace action. Rather, there is a deliciously slow build-up---the descriptions of the preparations made for the journey ahead, and of the men and their individual temperament and personalities----which became more fleshed-out as their individual contributions toward survival was told. Yes, the first 1/3 of the book is low on pure action and adventure, since basically the men are merely camping (on an ice flow probably the size of a city), and the book narrates day-to-day life on the flow. But this is indispensable in fleshing-out the personalities of the characters, and in bonding the reader to these men; we truly care about them, as things get dangerously more dicey as the books proceeds.
   Once the ice flow breaks-up, and the men take to the boats, there is no end to the excitement and exhilaration in reading this book. The reader will be amazed at how, right to the very end, fate seems to erect constant, seemingly insurmountable, barriers and impediments to their ingenious and courageous efforts at self-preservation.
   One small criticism of the book: I wish there was a follow-up, prologue chapter, describing what happened to the men following their rescue---maybe a "where they are now" summary.
   Again, I can't, for the life of me, understand how someone could give this a poor rating, unless, as I stated, one concludes such reviewers are ignorant and inexperienced practitioners of the reading and historical arts (again, you be the judge, after noting their misspellings and grammar).
   Anyway, I will probably get this in hardcover, if available, as it is a worthy addition to my permanent library collection. And I will likely seek out more books and information on the subject.



2. There's not much to add to the almost 400 reviews preceding-other than another five stars.
   
   Working almost exclusively with a palette of black, white, gray and blue, Lansing manages to craft a vivid account of the Imperial Trans Antarctic Expedition of 1914. As others have mentioned, this story, as interpreted by Lansing, is so engrossing you won't want to put the book down. (Even after a second or third time!) It's also an interesting perspective on leadership under the most dismal conditions that can be imagined.
   
   A tidbit from one of the one star reviews that deserves mention: there was more than one publisher for the paperback versions of this book; Carroll & Graf, and Tyndale. As I understand, the Carroll & Graf edition contains the familiar secular foreword followed by Lansing's original text. The Tyndale edition has a Christian themed foreword from James C. Dobson, followed by Lansing's text edited for a Christian audience. IF this bothers you, make sure you're getting the Carroll & Graf version! (Thanks, Joel Abrams, for that information.)



3. This book is a treasure. It's hands down the best retelling of a survivor tale that I've read. The author just tells the story in such a simple and yet compelling way. The details that are included are incredible. And the story is totally miraculous. I recommend this book to anyone who likes history or tales of courage/adventure. I was blown away by Shackletons (and his men's) accomplishment in the face of what was should have been sure death.



4. Great book! We used this book in our book club. Everyone enjoyed it! Very interesting and kept your attention. You really felt like you were there on the ice with the men.



5. This book was exactly what I wanted and it arrived in great shape. The service was excellent; thank you!

1 comments about Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper: A Sweet-Sour Memoir of Eating in China.

1. Fuchsia Dunlop has a yen for Sichuan cuisine and culture, having spent her graduate school years in Chengdu and attending various cooking schools there. A true pioneer in cross-cultural exploration, she was one of the first expatriates who went "native", at least in a culinary sense.
   
   This easy reading book is more travel journal rather then cook book. You follow her step by step as she goes deeper and deeper into the culinary technique, aesthetic and philosophy that makes up Chinese cooking and eating. Besides her kitchen and dinner table encounters, the book also portrays the torrid pace of change that China has undergone this past decade. She covers the major differences between Occidental and Chinese ideas of good eats - freshness, texture/mouth-feel, the idea of what's edible. A very fun read - I finished this book in three nights.

5 comments about Cartographia: Mapping Civilizations.

1. In need of a gift for an adult map entusiast wanting to be intrigued and enlightened; a map with added or unusual features to inform and entertain rather than provide directions to places.



2. my 23-yr-old son loved this christmas gift. it is a beautifully illustrated book, very interesting



3. Cant say enough. Love it. Book is a great addition to anyones library.
   The delivery was swift, within a week. The price was probably a typo, but it was honored and the book was in near-new condition.



4. "Cartographia," by Vincent Virga and the Library of Congress is an amazing volume that explores in depth the development of the art of cartogtraphy, map-making, from ancient times to the present. This handsome, over-sized, volume with full color photos of beautiful and rare maps throughout the ages, is a must-have for anyone interested in history, geography or maps.
   
   The book is arranged in sections divided by region of the world (i.e. Mediterranean, Europe, the Americas, Asia, etc). The text is extremely informative, well-written and engaging, while also very concise and focused. The map photos are absolutely breath-taking! Apparently the U.S. Library of Congress map collection contains more than 4.8 million original maps, and more than 60,000 atlases from ancient times to the present- which is absolutely incredible in and of itself!
   
   Some of the maps and sections I found most interesting were: the early maps of the "New World," with all their interesting speculations and inaccuracies; the maps of Egypt- both by the ancient Egyptians, as well as maps made by Napoleon's early 19th century expedition and others. This magnficient volume also includes some early road and transit maps made right around the time that the national highway system was beginning to take shape across America in the mid twentieth century.
   
   I highly, highly recommend this excellent volume- not only for the amazing maps and excellent text, but also for a sense of perspective of how maps have been shaped by human cultural perceptions of those in power throughout the ages. It is also a great book for parents with school age children, or to display as a living room, coffee table conversation piece. Pick this one up, and enjoy!



5. Cartographia: Mapping Civilizations - this book was purchased as a present for a member of the family turning 70 years of age - a learned man, keen on history, who already had many books, etc. He was absolutely delighted with this book. I had to search for it, but it was a worthwhile purchase, and one not found in Australia. I thoroughly recommend this book to young and old - it is a book which captures your undivided attention for hours.

5 comments about The Best Things to Do in New York City: 1001 Ideas.

1. Although I've lived in Gotham for several years, this book helped me to fall head over heels in love with the city again. After reading "The Best Things to Do in New York: 1,001 Ideas," I decided to take the authors' advice and give New York City every spare moment I had left in my very busy schedule. In 2007, I'm going to tour the tombstones at Trinity Church, take a 3-hour Circle Line cruise, record a story in Grand Central Station, drink afternoon tea at the Waldorf-Astoria, buy lunch at Zabar's and picnic in Riverside Park, take in a comedy show at Caroline's and walk through several neighborhoods just to revel in their historical and architectural treasures.
   
   This is a top rate guide to Gotham, one that's ideal for tourists, transplants or natives. Pick it up and I guarantee you'll be scheduling dozens of new adventures on your calendar as well.



2. Do you marvel at how sometimes, a complete foreigner knows more about your city than you ever cared to know? I have lived on the outskirts of Manhattan for my entire life: Brooklyn, Queens, and mostly Long Island. However, I made many frequent forays into Manhattan on the weekends, and I considered myself not the complete tyro regarding the nooks, crannies, and interesting activities that 'The City' had to offer. This book was recommended to me by a Russian immigrant, who had come to New York 10 years prior. I often marveled at all the interesting places she went, and how she knew so many good places to eat. It turns out that this is the secret! Although some of the 1001 ideas are very touristy, the vast majority are applicable to even native New Yorkers. So far I've had free hot dogs with my pints of red beer, had the strongest shots I've ever had (watermelon-flavored too!), spent more on one meal than I usually spend in one month, and I plan on doing so much more. This book doesn't only give you interesting things to do and see, it also stokes your curiosity to discover things on your own. I'm not a great reviewer, but I want to get across the point that I did thoroughly enjoy this book, and I plan on checking off the vast majority of things listed!



3. This book is right, the things to do in New York are endless. My family and I have made many trips to New York, everytime we go we find something new to do. I enjoyed taking my daughter to see the Rockettes at Christmas time and then taking her on a carriage ride. Last Thanksgiving we went to see the Macy's Day Parade and it was incredible. Always something exciting to do in the Big Apple. Read the book and then take your family on a new adventure!!
   
   Billy Wannyn



4. I got this books as a gift for someone and it looked good but there were no pictures and everything just seemed the same.



5. I bought this for my sister based 100% on these reviews. She loved the book and is very excited to start trying some of these activities. She lives in Queens but works in the city and is always looking for new things to do...this book helps her take advantage of all NYC has to offer.

5 comments about The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir.

1. The book didn't hold my interest at all. Perhaps if I'd grown up in the era of the book, it would have made all the difference in the world! I gave the book to my grandfather.



2. humorously brought back so many memories i didn't know i had of that time in my life. like me, bryson was born in the midwest (this occurs in des moines, IA) and in the 1950's.
   
   my husband & i found it hilarious.



3. Don't buy it unless you were born in Iowa in the 50s and 60s. Otherwise, you won't understand a single chapter, and there is not too much fun in it.



4. Every time I pick up a Bill Bryson book, whether it's this one or my other favorite A Walk in the Woods, I find myself giddy within seconds. Not in that "what a funny joke" sort of way, but in the "sitting around telling stories with your family until everyone is experiencing that intense kind of laughing where no sound comes out" sort of way.
   
   For whatever duration I'm reading--one hour, two hours, etc. I have this sappy, silly, stupid, involuntary smile plastered on my face for almost every moment of that time. And I'm not an overly happy guy. I can honestly say there is only one other activity in my whole life experience that produces the same effect, and it lasts nowhere near an hour. I'll go no further with that.
   
   He's a funny, funny man, and his stories ring so true to my life experience. I've even met one of the people he describes in A Walk in the Woods (Wes Wisson, the Appalachian Trail shuttler in Georgia). One of my very favorite authors. Buy this book.



5. Anyone born in the 50's can relate to the experiences of Bill Bryson. I began reading this book on an airplane and was laughing so hard, the people around me were smiling. Bill Bryson uses excellent humor to bring his story to life. You feel as though you know him or someone like him. Memories of my own childhood came flooding back. Excellent read. Never dull.

5 comments about Egypt (Eyewitness Travel Guides).

1. This book is a beauty. The photos are beautiful and the information is well presented and easy to use. I have used these books before and really like them. We have not gone on our trip yet but on other trips these guidebooks have helped us find places and sites that we probably would have missed otherwise. Well worth the price.



2. The DK editions always offers you a guide ilustrated with pictures in order to know beforehand what's are you going to see. Egypt guide has many historical summaries about the very long history of Egypt in order to climate you during your staying. It contains useful tips and road maps.
   Every point of interest is described and the most times available in photo.



3. While this book has a lot of pretty pictures, and quite a bit of information, I found the lonely planet guide to have about twice as much information on any given area, and cover more of the obscure places in Egypt.



4. I received my order, prompt and packaging was very nice.
   Great book and Thank you again.
   eloy gomez



5. 
   These guides are the very best in the business. If I'm thinking of going on a trip, I think again if there isn't an Eyewitness guide in print.
   
   EGYPT is the same high calibre as all the others I've bought over the years.

5 comments about Oxford Atlas of the World, 14th Edition.

1. I just bought the Oxford Atlas for a Valentine's present for my wife, and I just want to react to at least two parts of the book in which the cutting of the pages (with about 3 pages in each case) was defective and the extra width hidden by folding of the pages. I just didn't want to go through the trouble and cost of sending it back to Amazon in exchange for a new one, but I was extremely angry and disappointed. It is not only poor quality control for what is supposed to be a high quality book (and Press), but a obviously a deliberate attempt (and a successful one) to sell it anyway. This is, of course, Oxford University Press's fault, and Amazon has nothing to do with it.



2. I purchased this as an office resource so I could have a better idea of tracking my globetrotting boss! After receiving it, I realize it has much more information than I need but it is certainly informative and interesting to flip through.



3. The new fourteenth edition of the Oxford Atlas of the World is an essential acquisition for all readers who recognize the need for excellent reference materials in a home library. Truly extraordinary, it offers all the expected information of an atlas plus far more in forematter and satellite photographs. Its extremely current maps are varied in scope and highly detailed yet clear and thus easily usable. Ample legends and additional inclusions make this volume another worthy addition to the highly regarded Oxford references.



4. Oxford Atlas of the World, 14th Edition. I had hoped for more towns listed on U S States, otherwise Atlas is very useful for other areas of world.



5. The main virtue of the Oxford Atlas of the World is its clarity. It may not be as detailed as the larger and more expensive competitors (eg National Geographic Atlas of the World) but the maps as plentiful and very readable.