1 comments about V!VA Travel Guide to Ecuador and the Galápagos Islands.

1. Really extensive information. Light on the photos but strong on content. Very up-to-date, much more so than most of the bigger name guide books. Maps were extremely useful while traveling around Quito and the restaurant reviews helped a lot. It's also really cool because you can visit their web site and add your own content on stuff, like if something changes or you had a bad hotel or whatever.
   
   Highly recommended.

5 comments about The Far Traveler: Voyages of a Viking Woman.

1. I am just a general reader who happens to enjoy well-written history. I've never read much at all about the Vikings but the NY Times review of THE FAR TRAVELER was enticing and I was not let down by its promise. Nancy Marie Brown has reached back to a place and people obscured by time, doing a decent job of erasing some of the fog and cold desolation that obscure the Dark Ages and Medieval Epoch in Iceland and Greenland. She also succeeds in revealing a lot about contemporary archaeological practice and thought.
   
   Brown turns first to the Sagas, the 10th and 11th century tales of Vikings, for inspiration. Though embroidered, the Sagas, written down some generations later, are regarded as holding historical memories. Brown focuses on one woman who appears in both the Eirik the Red and Greenland Sagas as her guide, Gudrid, who traveled from Iceland to Greenland to Vinland, back to Iceland and remarkably, in later age, on a pilgrimage to Rome. Her son Snorri was very likely the first European child born on North American soil, circa 1005. Her personal story reveals much about religion, economics, gender relations, values, world view and other aspects of her culture. Born late in the 10th century AD, she witnessed the spread of Christianity and the fading of the violent marauding male economy as the domestic textile industry spun by women on the farm began to reposition Iceland in the world trade scene. Brown travels to all of the places Gudrid did, reads scholarship on her topic and participates in archaeological digs and recreation of weaving studios.
   
   The digs at L'Anse Aux Meadows, Newfoundland, have been reported on before, but Brown brings a fresh fascination to them in the context of Gudrid's life. She provides strong descriptive passages of the places she visits and there is one map in the front of the book. It would have been nice, however, to have had some illustrations. I would also like to have known a little more about Brown's own context and interest in this subject.



2. Brown gives us a lot of interesting information about Gudrun's life and times in "The Far Traveller." But what is even more interesting is her description of being on archaeological digs in Iceland, describing what archaeologists have to do to torture more information out of the physical remains of the past. Brown's focus on what archaeology has contributed to our knowledge of the Vikings, as well as archaeology's limitations, make this a more fascinating read than the account of what we think we know about Gudrun could have done.



3. This book enlightens a period of history not well known to date. It is very interesting reading, especially for anyone with Scandinavian roots. The research the lies behing this work is remarkable. I highly recommend this book.



4. This is an extraordinary acheivement. The author follows the character of Gudrid throughout her journeys through in Viking world of the late 900s and early 1000s and, along the way, paints a vivid picture of life at that time. The writing is engaging and apparently effortless, but the research that supports it is massive, as described in 35 pages of footnotes and references at the end of the book. The author's passion is clear throughout, and further evidenced by her having worked as a volunteer archaeologist one summer in Iceland to excavate Gudrid's home. This is essential reading for anyone interested in the Vikings.



5. Fascinating!!
   
   I only wish more photos, diagrams and website links and/or information (on those specific archeological discoveries and digs) would have been provided, so that we could have researched it a bit more, and tracked any furhter progress.
   
   The listings of the incredible array of artifacts found in these archeoligical digs would have also benefited by some drawings and photos.
   
   That being said, this is a wonderful book that brings the action to life -- I can almost see the ship rise and fall with the waves. The natives (skraalings) and the landscape of the new world is rendered in vivid word pictures. The descriptions of the Viking farms in Greenland and the hazardous trips sometimes needed to be made to reach those farms, gives me a sense of the tremendous resiliency and resourcefulness of those heroic people way back then.
   
   Exceptional -- but would definitely benefit from photos, diagrams, links, -- even a rendering of what Gudrid may have looked like.

5 comments about Cider, Hard and Sweet: History, Traditions, and Making Your Own, Second Edition.

1. As far as selecting apples, and actually creating cider from them, this book is abount as detailed as it gets. The tables in in that describe US and EU apple types as well as their traits is worth the price alone.
   
   However, if you're looking to make hard (alcoholic) cider the book only takes you half way. Anyone looking to do hard cider should buy a seperate homebrew book that goes into detail about the brew process. Combine it with the information from this book and you'll have some great hard cider.



2. I've been making hard cider for a couple years now, this book helped me understand how to make tweaks to it and how to recognize what causes certain tastes. It also goes over additives to put in the cider to give it different tastes. The book gives a beginers outlook on making cider in general, however as far as basics to hard cider this book is very general. All and all a good read, and well worth it's money



3. I found this book to be a very entertaining and fact-filled introduction to Cider making (and drinking). I am an experienced home brewer, and the information contained in this book was sufficient to "get me started" with brewing cider. However, I think that it is NOT sufficient if you have little or no background in brewing. That being said, if you are looking for a book about brewing cider, this would make an excellent choice if you also buy a beginner-level book about homebrewing as a companion.
   
   And if you are just interested in apples, cider enjoyment, and a good dose of apple history, this is definitely a well-written and enjoyable book.



4. I brew my own beer and make my own wine and wanted to start making hard cider, not with this book I won't. After deciding to buy a cider book, the only two available from amazon(that seemed to fill my niche) were this and "Cider: Making, Using & Enjoying Sweet & Hard Cider" by Annie Proulx and Lew Nichols. A user review of it was bad so i bought this one. Big mistake. This book should be titled "Apples" not "Cider"



5. There was a windfall of apples this year. We purchased an old press and made gallons and gallons of cider. This book covers all the information, new and old, anyone could want. I've shared it with friends who agree. I'm glad I bought it and recommend it to anyone who loves a good apple!

5 comments about Scotland (Country Guide).

1. I have used lonely planet travel books on my many trips to South and Central America, and I have always been happy with their information and insight. This book on Scotland continues to support my happiness with this series of travel books.



2. Bought the book and found the maps with cite notations most helpful upon our visits--although there were many one ways that make getting from 1 place to another difficult at times, but you can't blame the book for that. Ate and stayed at some of their suggestions and we weren't disappointed.
   Book heavily geared to the younger/hostel type of traveler--we were neither, but it still provided us with a lot of helpful suggestions.



3. As I have always found in Lonely Planet Guide books, the Lonely Planet guide to Scotland is well researched and contains lots of useful information. We plan to hike the West Highland Way over the Summer of 2009 and this Lonely Planet Guide to Scotland has lots of good information about hotels and restaurants along the way. I highly recommend this book!



4. This book was soooo useful! I was in a large group of constantly bickering people and this book was great in helping people actually agree on where we were going to go. The descriptions and suggestions for local places to eat, and especially the hints for places off the beaten path made for the best traveling I've ever had. Will def buy from this series again the next time I travel.



5. This is a great guide for Scotland. I've looked up everything that was recommended even in the smallest of towns and found it in this book.

No comments about The Amazon: Amazonian Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela and the Guianas (Lonely Planet CUSTOM Guide).

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

1. 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.



2. 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!



3. 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.



4. 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.



5. In many ways this book deserves the highest praise: well written, thought provoking, and in some cases very funny. Yet at times seemed justified for an average rating because it did seem to drag and Mr. Perry chose to wordsmith just a bit too much for me. However, I believe the book can offer every reader something of value and would recommend you take the time to visit Mr. Perry and the town of New Auburn.
   
   It should be pointed out that the book isn't intended for the weak. Perry's story's are graphic and hard hitting and if death bothers you; enter cautiously. From a personal perspectives this made the book for me and the authors ability to make me feel a part of each scenario added to my enjoyment.
   
   I travel on occasion on Route 53 heading North to Duluth.... I plan on stopping to take a look and catch me some food at the local diner. Thanks Michael for sharing your stories.

5 comments about Top 10 Athens (Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guides).

1. This book was very helpful. The compactness of the book was great, it was easy to carry and stow in the back pack. The information was very acurate. It was a great benefit to have.



2. This is a very thorough guide for when you have only a day or two to visit. It actually has way more in it than we could possibly see or do.
   Giving the top ten things to see is great for your first visit. It is also great for probably your second or third.
   
   Very helpful, lots of pictures and maps.



3. I am going to Greece later this year, and I bought this to start getting an idea of what to go see and what to expect. This book is great!! It is a great place to start, especially if you don't have alot of time on the trip and want to hit the "big stuff." I thoroughly enjoyed the overviews on all the different places. It gives you the hours, the prices, best times of day to go to places, best restaurants, etc. It even tells you what to avoid. I bought it with a few other books, which go into more detail, but this is the book you carry around with you as you walk around Athens as a reference material. It also has a laminated map of Athens in a pouch in the back of the book. This is a great resource, and it has got me totally stoked about my trip coming up!



4. The guide can be carried around easy, however the map is kind of small. Our Hotel provided us with a better map then the one in the guide.
   One problem was that the opening hours for the musea were incorrect. Archaelogical museum was listed as being open in May till 7:00pm. When we arrived at about 1:30pm we found out that they closed at 3:00pm. They still had 'winter' hours. Opening hours for musea in Athens are kind of random anyway, check before you go.



5. (I wanted to make it 4 stars, but goofed and now can't seem to change it.)
   
   This sounds like a gimmick, but is a surprisingly useful guide, especially given its compact size and low price. The concept of the top 10 list is used to organize information on the most important or interesting things to see. For each item on the top 10 there is a brief paragraph and a marker on a tiny map.
   
   The book is useful for two reasons. First the little paragraphs are well written, giving you key information in a small space. Secondly, they use the top-10 concept in creative ways, so you get the top 10 for Athens of which the Acropolis is number one. But then they give you a top-10 for the Acropolis that allows them to drill down to fairly specific items. Nor are the lists just limited to sites. You get 10 Philosophers and Writers, ten Athenian Legends and ten Greek Inventions among other lists.
   
   The guide also covers items in various Athens' neighborhoods, and the area around Athens. The last section of the book covers a number of travel practicalities.
   
   This guide works well in combination with a much more detailed guide or a series of guides. Use this book to orient you and to stimulate your interest in some specific site, then drill into the details either online or with a specialty guide.

5 comments about New Orleans (Eyewitness Travel Guides).

1. My work has provided me with the opportunity to travel a good bit. I am the type of person who wants to get a working background for my destinations, both in terms of history and geographic layout. Because I work, I don't have a great deal of time to spend reading and studying different, often lengthy, travel guides before or during my trips.
   
   Because these guides are concise, beautifully illustrated, relatively compact, and impeccably organized, I cannot recommend highly enough the Dorling Kindersley Eyewitness Travel Guides! The DK Eyewitness Travel Guide is THE guide I buy for every destination. Not only do I get a quick history and background of the destination, but I also will be provided with a visual guide to everything. The visual detail is really what sets the DK Eyewitness Travel Guides apart.
   
   The street maps of common destination points are drawn in dimensional detail so you will visually recognize when you "get there." This is particularly helpful when you don't speak the native language.
   
   The regional maps are colorful and concise. However, the DK Eyewitness Travel Guide really shows its stuff with the drawings associated with attractions such as museums. Their presentation of museum layouts allow the traveler who is short on time to quickly see the best of the museum within the time the traveler has to spend.
   
   Each DK Eyewitness Travel Guide has a good summary section in the back with practical information about where to eat, where to sleep, what to do, and how to get around.
   
   While I may supplement the DK Eyewitness Travel Guide with others for a more detailed travel guide, the other guide is only more to read, not more to see. Buy the DK Eyewitness Travel Guide first for any destination.



2. This is a wonderful guide to this great city, it is well thought out and easy to navigate. Now about New Orleans. I am disgraced at the response to this catastrophy, I just want to cry as this city I love is allowed to drown in putrid swill, it's a national disgrace, you deserve better New Orleans, you are a national treasure, and we will do everything possible to make this up to you, no money should be spared, I don't care if it takes 100 billion dollars the city must rise again, better than it was, we owe you, we will do right by you, you are our soul.



3. Very informative and well formatted. I visited New Orleans with my family and this book was invaluable to our enjoyable trip. It does need to be updated to reflect the changes since Katrina.



4. As long as the reader understands that this book was released in 2004, before Hurricane Katrina, this is still a very useful guide to New Orleans, especially the French Quarter. Some businesses have changed or gone under due to the lack of tourist trade, but the French Quarter had almost no significant damage from the storm. We visited New Orleans in June of 2008, so we took this book with us. There is a revised issue coming in the late Fall of 2008, so if your trip is after that time wait for the new revision. The information is very well presented, and the book is a great carry-around guide.



5. I love the DK travel guides. They have a lot of information, and what I enjoy most: lot of pictures and maps! So it is easier to decide what to see.

No comments about Arizona & the Grand Canyon (Lonely Planet CUSTOM Guide).

5 comments about Guide to Arizona Backroads & 4-Wheel Drive Trails.

1. Great resource. Good maps, good directions and even GPS waypoints. Couldn't ask for more.



2. I have traveled countless miles of Southwestern trails, and I think these are the best trailbooks available for Arizona and Moab. Wells has selected the most scenic and interesting trails, with concise and simple directions. Some people may find the non-topo maps confusing at first, but combined with the written directions, GPS coordinates, and basic common sense anyone should find their way through without incident.
   
   The book is thorough, with relative charts for difficulty and overall enjoyability of a trail, as well as driving tips and preparation guidelines.
   
   As with any printed book, some of the info gets outdated rather quickly, but he does try to post updates on his website. No matter how good a trailbook is, always use an additional navigation source: topo maps, atlas, land management maps (BLM or USFS) and always check with local 4x4 shops, clubs or land management agencies for current conditions.



3. This is a great book to get off-road with. I haven't tried too many, but what I've seen is very accurate.



4. This is a worthwhile book if you are looking for quad, jeep or hiking trails. It isn't as complete as I would have liked but it is worth the price.



5. I bought this guide mainly for places to ride our quads. Even though the book is geared towards 4WD vehicles, it still gives you enough information to decide if this is a place that you would also like to ride your ATVs.