1 comments about Frommer's Grand Canyon National Park (Park Guides).

1. Save your money the Lonely Planet Guide "Grand Canyon National Parks Guide" is much better. Better written, better descriptions, more information and I found more accurate. An all around better guide. It is also available through Amazon.Lonely Planet Grand Canyon National Park (Lonely Planet National Park Guides)

2 comments about A Sense of Place, a Sense of Time.

1. J.B. Jackson's reflections drawn from his many years' work in landscape architecture make a wonderful read for any interested in the burgeoning category of 'place' studies. Free of postmodernese yet relevant to contemporary sensibilities, his book 'A Sense of Place, A Sense of Time' is an informative, warm and welcome survey of issues he's encountered in a life in the profession.



2. the book arrived quiclky and I'm happy with it nevertheless it as some underlined sentences (used books are usually like this) but it's quite ok.

5 comments about Hiking South Carolina.

1. Falcon Guides' "Hiking South Carolina," by John Clark and John Dantzler, has it all: great maps, articulate and informative narratives, over 50 interesting photos, and a plethora of details that provide readers with everything they need to know to enjoy South Carolina's natural heritage. It even has an introduction by Judge Alex Sanders, President of the College of Charleston, whose unorthodox insight is humorous and informative.

   As is the case with all Falcon Guides, the maps are superb. There are detailed maps of each of the book's 62 featured hikes, each with a locator map inset, plus an overview map of the Mountain Bridge Natural Area network of trails and a numbered, locator overview page that pinpoints on a single state map the location of each of the featured hikes.

   The prose is well-written and informative, with descriptions of history, flora, and fauna, in addition to helpful directions to guide hikers and enable them to avoid problems with confusing trail indicators. The authors hiked all described trails over the past two years to insure the accuracy and timeliness of all information. "Hiking South Carolina" even has descriptions of recently completed segments of the new mountains-to-sea Palmetto Trail, plus an overview of this exciting project.

   If you like details, this book is definitely for you. For each hike, it has superb directions to trailheads and information on distances, trail conditions, fees, rest rooms and other facilities, nearby lodging and amenities, and where to obtain additional information. The appendix contains a directory of over 300 trails, plus a comprehensive bibliography, phone numbers, web sites, hiker's checklist, and more.

   As Chair of the South Carolina Sierra Club, this reviewer recommends "Hiking South Carolina" enthusiastically and without reservation.




2. I've never though of South Carolina as being much of a state for hiking, but this book has changed my mind. South Carolina is full of trails! Several dozen of the best trails are described in detail. Flora, fauna, interesting features, the usual outdoor stuff, but eloquently depicted. Could use more photos, but you'll probably be taking plenty of your own at some of the gorgeous places listed here. As it is, the book small enough to fit easily into a rucksack. There are good, accurate maps. If a trail is especially difficult there is a graph to help you gauge your efforts - you can see how much is uphill, how much downhill, how much is level, etc. Helps a lot with the pacing. The back of the book has a list of ALL the trails in the state. There is a telephone number listed for each one so you can call for more information. Also has basic how-to information for beginning hikers. If you want to get out and see more of South Carolina, this is the way to do it! Highly recommended.



3. This guidebook has long been sorely needed. Great maps, great directions, full information. I have used it for several hikes and found it to be on the money. This is in contrast to the hiking guide I previously used, which was confusing and lacked adequate maps.

   I have especially enjoyed learning about great hiking opportunities in the South Carolina Low Country, in addition to the tried and true mountain trails.




4. It is so good to have a guidebook that contains more than just hikes under five or six miles. The maps are very helpful and the trail details are well written. I look forward to making liberal use of this book when gas prices go down.



5. Solid in every respect, this guide described 62 hiking destinations throughout the state of South Carolina. Each hike contains detailed directions to the trailhead, a fairly detailed description of the trail, and a map with more details than you would expect from a Falcon guide. Almost half of these hikes are in the mountains, with the remainder split evenly between the midlands and the coastal plains.
   
   Probably the greatest strength of this guide is the diversity of its hikes. Distances range from multi-day backpack treks along the Foothills Trail in upstate South Carolina to a short 1 mile walk through the swamps along the Edisto River. Nearly every type of destination is covered including waterfalls, wetlands, bird sanctuaries, rivers, overlooks, and just nice, plain forest hikes. If 62 hikes are not enough, this book also features an appendix listing every trail catalogued by the South Carolina State Trail Coordinator. Thus, no matter where you are in the state or what kind of hike you prefer, you will find something (and probably lots of things) of interest in this guide.
   
   It's hard to find a weakness with this guide. The closest thing I could find would be the fact that the author uses SR to mean Secondary Route instead of the standard State Route; he uses SC for South Carolina State Route. In addition to just being awkward, the author on at least one occasion (Turkey Creek Trail) forgets this designation himself. So make sure you have a good map like a DeLorme Atlas and Gazeteer before you start out toward one of these trailheads.
   
   In summary, this guide has no major flaws, and it is the best guide to South Carolina hiking that I am aware of on the market. So if you are interested in hiking the Palmetto State, this guide should find its way into your library.

1 comments about Streetwise Houston Map - Laminated Center City Street Map of Houston, Texas - Folding pocket size travel map with integrated metro light rail lines & stations (Streetwise).

1. I really like these simple easy to use maps. They are well put together and highly functional. I am very familiar with Houston, but i still carry this map, because sometimes frankly you just what to be sure where something is located. The only draw back to these streetwise maps is that they only highly light the central city, which is fine if that's the only place you'll be driving, but if you need a map of the entire city then this may not be your best bet, but they are great for the most traveled areas of town. Overall, I am a huge fan of these maps.

5 comments about Hallowed Ground: A Walk at Gettysburg (Crown Journeys).

1. I read James McPherson's "Hallowed Ground: A Walk at Gettysburg" on my recent trip to Gettysburg. Although my visit was only for a day, the book provided a nice overview of the events of the battle. Although not designed to be a an in depth narrative of the entire three days of battle, it provided details for several events and battlefield sites that left me with a good sense of the important features of the battle. This is certainly a useful book for a first time visitor with a limited amount of visiting time.



2. It is important not to mistake this book as a detailed history of the battle. It is not intended as such. If you want a detailed history see the series of books by Harry W. Pfanz. Rather, this is a guide for visitors to the battlefield that is clearly written and directs readers to the major points of interest while injecting a series of interesting anecdotes and thought provoking observations. To this end, it is very well done.



3. James McPherson estimates that he's conducted dozens of on-site tours of the Gettysburg battlefield. This little book is a written tour. Concise, eloquent, and knowledgeable, it's a true delight to read. I've lived in Gburg for a quarter of a century now, and I know the battlefield pretty well. Even so, McPherson taught me a few new things (besides increasing my overall tactical comprehension of the battle):
   
   --When the Peace Light Memorial was dedicated in July 1938, nearly 2,000 Civil War veterans attended (pp. 44-45).
   
   --Amos Humiston, a sergeant in the 154th New York, was mortally wounded in town on the first day of battle, but his body was only found a few days afterward, near the present-day fire station (right next to where I lived when I first moved to Gburg). When he was found, he was clutching an ambrotype of his three children. When the story hit the newspapers, it sparked a national movement for the care of children orphaned by the war (pp. 53-54).
   
   --The relatively new Longstreet statue on West Confederate Avenue is the first monument to Longstreet anywhere (p. 68).
   
   --One of Dan Sickles' defense attorneys when he was on trial for murdering his wife's lover back in 1859 was Edwin Stanton (p. 72).
   
   --Over by the Pennsylvania Monument you'll find a statue of a Catholic chaplain, Father William Corby of the Irish Brigade, perched on a boulder. The statue is pretty well known. What's not so well known is the incredible (and nonChristian, I might add!) admonition the the real Father Corby standing on that same rock, gave the Irish Brigade on the second day of battle: "the Catholic church refuses Christian burial to the soldier who turns his back upon the foe or deserts his flag" (p. 85).
   
   --The second day of battle was probably the second bloodiest (after Antietam) of the entire war, with each side suffering about 10,000 casualties (p. 92).
   
   --The retreating Rebel army kidnapped and took to Virginia at least fifty local free blacks (p. 126).



4. A great little book that will give the reader a basic understandig of the 3 days of the battle. Good maps that let you no where he is talking about Just the basics but gives you an idea of what occurred and perhaps will lead you
   to other volumes on the subject.



5. In this slender volume, eminent historian James McPherson takes a personal look at the Gettysburg battlefield. He begins by noting (Page 15): "More than any other place in the United States, this battlefield [Gettysburg] is indeed hallowed ground." He observes the "carnage" for both Union and Confederate soldiers at this great battle (11,000 killed, 29,000 wounded, 10,000 missing out of a total of about 165,000 troops in all). He says (Page 21): "What was accomplished by all of this carnage? Join me for a walk on this hallowed ground, where we will try to answer these questions."
   
   The book is organized, simply, by day. Day One, July 1st, 1863, begins the "walk." He begins by noting where Lieutenant Marcellus Jones, a cavalry officer, fired the first shot, to begin the battle, at about 7:30 A. M. He describes the early stages of the fight that day, from Buford's cavalry dueling with Heth's infantry division, to the arrival of the First and Eleventh Corps of the Union Army and the Corps of Generals A. P. Hill and Ewell on the Confederate side. He points out where key action took place.
   
   Day two is handled similarly. He notes where the action took place and provides some discussion of the events of the day. Ditto Day Three.
   
   The slenderness of this volume makes for quick reading. However, the content does appear to be a bit thin. There are maps for each day of the battle, but these really don't match well with the "walk at Gettysburg" that is a key part of this book.
   
   Thus, this is a nice personal work by McPherson, but it doesn't deliver at a "Five Star" level. However, for what it is, it is a quite useful book.

1 comments about Bicycling beyond the Divide: Two Journeys into the West (Outdoor Lives).

1. Bicycling beyond the Divide: Two Journeys into the West (Outdoor Lives)
   
   This is an adventure story that is as much about how people in all the small rural towns and parks have changed from 1985 to 2005 as it is about bicycling through the Western United Sates. This book is made up of many portraits of people met and images of the American landscape as described by a shy traveler who is a great listener and neutral absorber of everyplace he peddles through (as well as the places he doesn't make it via bicycle) as this country is no easy ride. Making this book a really interesting read.

5 comments about A Field Guide to the Grand Canyon 2nd Edition.

1. I agree with everything the previous reviewer said, except that I really like the overviews of Canyon geology and so on, and don't feel that those make to book too heavy to be useful as a field guide. This is probably the best and most informative guide for a hiker or visitor to the Grand Canyon to take along.



2. Handy easy-to-use guide to birds, flowers, cacti, wildflowers, reptiles, mammals, geology of the grand canyon. Nothing like it anywhere.



3. This book was a nice introduction to the geology, plant and animal life of the grand canyon. It is small enough to take in your pack and is fun to read once you've arrived at camp and try to identify the plants, animals and strata you saw. Not too much specific information about any one species, strata, etc., but good general intros to flora, cacti, etc. I'd recommend it if it's your first hike in the canyon and you're just looking for a simple book to become familiar with the names of thing. You can find it in the gift shops on both rims too.



4. Useful guide for visitors who are hiking, but limited use for river runners.



5. Loads of detail. Really liked this book.
   - River and Desert Plants of the Grand Canyon by Kristin Huisinga, Lori Makarick and Kate Watters published 2006 by Mountain Press Publishing Company Missoula, Montana PO Box 2399, Missoula, Montana 59806 (406) 728-1900 Great book!
   - "Guidebook to the Colorado River Part 1 Lee's Ferry to Phantom Ranch in the Grand Canyon National Park (and Part 2 Phantom Ranch in the Grand Canyon National Park to Lake Mead Arizona-Nevada) Two BYU Geology Professors W. Kenneth Hamblin and J. Keith Rigby. Indepth mile by mile with some pictures etc. They are only $5 a piece. A publication of the Department of Geology, Brigham Young University Provo, Utah 84602.

4 comments about Amazing Places to Take Your Kids: Hundreds of North American Adventures (Travel).

1. Our family has had a great time looking at this beautiful coffee table book together to figure out our next vacation. We love the big pictures, and the descriptions are very clear. From what I read, these places really seem to be amazing.
   
   I'm glad we bought it because it's something we can all do as a family, even our teen reminisces about some of the places we have been, and laughs over new ideas about where to go. I recommend it and think it's a perfect present for other parents.



2. This book tries to cover too much and ends up with little really useful information. It goes for the easy big well-known places instead of doing some real work in uncovering what most people don't already know. Is the Iowa State Fair all there is for the entire state of Iowa for a kid? And the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland is really no place for young kids. Any potential buyers of this book would be better off contacting the tourism department of whatever state they want to visit to get a better grasp of what's out there for kids.



3. This book is simply beautiful! It has huge, colorful pictures of every place with easy, readable descriptions. I have kids ages 5-13, and every one of them enjoyed looking through these pages. Of course, many more interesting places could have been covered (this only lists the most well-known - not the less-traveled, well-researched destinations), but I guess the author had to pick and choose which places to include based on her personal preferences, and limited space. Overall though, I'd definitely recommend this to anyone who's planning a family vacation - or who simply enjoys scenic travel books.



4. Generally the book is very informative for providing a variety of places to take the kids. It is not likely that one book could list every possible attraction, but this book is at least a good starting point to find about places and then get more information on the interesting places.

No comments about Backpacking Oregon: From Rugged Coastline to Mountain Meadow.

3 comments about National Geographic Guide to the Lewis & Clark Trail.

1. Done in great National Geo style, with stunning photos, this is a great "pocket" guide to the Lewis and Clark Trail. However, with it's lack of maps, it needs to be used in concert with larger, more detailed guides, such as "Along the Trail with Lewis and Clark" by Barbara Fifer, et al. If you are among the many contemplating hitting the Trail, this book will come in handy.



2. For anyone wishing to visit historic locations along the trail of Lewis and Clark's expedition, this is the best summary you can find. Tom Schmidt does an excellent job of collecting information from the Lewis and Clark Journals and relating this all to the sites we can all visit along the trail.



3. On a Trip to Retrace Lewis & Clark's Route from Great Falls MO.to Clarkston WA. this Book was a valuable Trip Companion. It guided beautifully, helped to find important Places and explained them in detail once there.Glad we bought this Book before starting our Trip