2 comments about Frommer's San Francisco 2008 (Frommer's Complete).

1. I found this book more useful than any other guide book for San Francisco. I was very much enjoyed what they recommend in the book especially road trip. They give real detail and recommendation for restaurant and shopping which I found very accurate.



2. The authors have golden tastebuds. I completely agree with their ratings of many restaurants. I also thought their ratings of various attractions were accurate.

5 comments about Kauai Underground Guide: And Free Hawaiian Music CD (Kauai Underground Guide).

1. If you like to dine out, this is the book for you. Over 90 pages of a 239 page book are devoted to restaurants. For my wife and I who like to pack a lunch and go exploring, this part of the book was not used. We like to hike and photograph scenic spots. Two of Kauai's most scenic spots, Wailua Falls and Opaeka'a Falls are not even mentioned in the book. The index is rather skimpy. The book is heavily weighted toward those who want to patronize the local businesses for tours, rentals, shopping, etc. with lots and lots of names and phone numbers. We found the section on choosing a helicopter company based on what each has to do for their FAA certificate helpful, as well as how many crash fatalities each has had. One of the most helpful guides that we had was a magazine called Kaua'i Traveler ($4.95 at Amazon) which we picked up at our hotel. It included very succinct descriptions of and directions to the top sites on the island. The magazine gave us directions to Kipu Falls which is easily accessible by a short well worn trail. The guide book says that "the only safe and legal way to visit Kipu Falls" is go take a kayak and hiking tour costing $75 to $129.



2. I bought 3 books on Kaua'i and I ranked this one second behind Kaua'i Revealed. This is a good guide with many good pointers, but lacks detailed directions on how to get to some places. I have been to Kaua'i now 3 times and I am looking for new places to explore. All in all, this is a good buy for the money.



3. There are two guides that pretty much cover the field for a visit to Kauai. Although I don't have this edition, Kauai Underground has always provided very reliable information about the kinds of things visitors commonly do in Kauai - eat at restaurants, go to the beach, etc. Maybe it's just accident, but I find over and over again that I agree with Lenore and Mira's recommendations. What inspired me to write this is that the 18th ed identifies Kalihiwai as a great family beach. It is! And few people seem to realize that. These guys know what they are talking about!
   
   Incidentally, the other "can't do without" is Kauai revealed, which is absolute tops for the OTHER side of the equation: hiking, sports, adventures, etc. from a truly knowledgable perspective.
   
   Take em both because both are tops on different aspects of the island.



4. Just returned from a fabulous 10 days in Kauai. We purchased and studied several guidebooks before our trip and took them all along with us. However, this was our "go to" book. It is like a friend had just returned and given us all their favorite places. And we cannot say enough about Hanalei and west of. Narrow your visit and no worries!



5. Would you like to go to a beach where you can drive for miles and miles and see no one at all? Do you want to go have noodle saimin for cheap that is world-class (the locals go there)? The author obviously knows her stuff. We did over a dozen of the suggested activities, and quickly figured out to follow her food recommendations, and we were delighted. In general, what we got was the "real" experience, not one that had been plasticized for tourists. If you like to travel in a way where you can appeal to your sense of exploration and cultural immersion, this guide is a no-brainer. Thank you so much for enriching our month in Hawaii!!

2 comments about The Rough Guide to Baja California (Rough Guide Travel Guides).

1. The Rough Guides are my favorite guide books, and this guide to Baja California is great, too. It's been invaluable in planning my trip next month. Well-written, to boot.



2. This is so well-written it is a good read from cover-to-cover. I consider it the best Baja guidebook on Amazon and second only to the AAA guidebook. This is one of the very few that I would consider a must-have on a trip to Baja. Tons of current, factual information and recommendations.

5 comments about Vermont Atlas & Gazetteer, Twelfth Edition.

1. Great map, lots of detail that I was looking for. The obvious drawback (and the pay-off for the detail) is it's size - not exactly a handy map for referring to in the car! It is a worthwhile buy though.



2. I've bought various states' Atlas & Gazetteers, and have to say that I don't plan a trip without one anymore.
   If you want to go 'off the beaten path' and still have a clue where you are, these are the best tools. A paper map from the convenience store just doesn't cut it. The front section of these books is terrific for whatever activities you're interested in from biking & hiking trails to campgrounds, amusements, and natural attractions/gardens/museums...it's all there.
   Oh, and a side note: These are VERY good tools to hand your kids in the back seat, as they can literally follow along (road curves, driving over a RR track, along a lake or river & everything!) as you're driving. No more "are we there yet?" because they KNOW where we are! Good tool to get them used to reading a road map; everything is "blown up" instead of just lines like you'd see on a regular road map.
   Very, VERY good resource!



3. I bought this map book prior to my recent June 2008 visit to northeastern Vermont (Northeast Kingdom). I was disappointed. What is shown as a road is actually an impassable trail. Roads shown to connect sometimes do not. Needless to say, I wasted a good amount of time and fuel. You might be the first person to ground truth the maps. Good luck!



4. I loved this atlas -- until I began trying to drive on roads that weren't there. It is obvious Delorme hasn't taken the time to test and update their information. Many roads that show on the map end partway through in someone's yard, or turn into impassable trails (even for an SUV), some of which pass through private property. Delorme, do your homework!



5. Vermont is a beautiful state and most of that beauty is best seen from the back roads (often unpaved) that lead over mountain and to villages. The Delorme Atlas and Gazetteer is standard equipment when I travel by car. I keep one in my truck for when in my home state of Tennessee and always get one when traveling to explore a place I have never been. I read maps well and teach map and compass use. This book is essential to finding your way around. Buy it

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

1. 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).



2. 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.



3. 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.



4. I really liked the book. I've been to Gettysburg about 3 times, & I found the information great as I "imagined" being on the battlefield. The writer was able to tell you where to go on the battlefield, then tell you who (the Regiments & the Generals) was there & the events that followed.



5. Excellent. Good as history and good as a walking and driving guide to the battlefield. Better than the "Walk at" series entry
   
   Washington Schlepped Here: Walking in the Nation's Capital (Crown Journeys)
   
   probably because the bounds of time and geography are smaller here.

5 comments about The Walt Disney World Trivia Book, Volume 2: More Secrets, History & Fun Facts Behind the Magic.

1. Fantastic book! What you may have thought you knew...but didn't! An interesting book of facts that help you understand the making of Walt Disney World. A must have book for Disney mania! Volume 1 is just as interesting!



2. I purchased Lou's book after I had found his website when I was planning my latest trip to Walt Disney World. After looking at his site and even signing up for the forum, I knew I had to purchase this book I'd been reading about! And I am so glad I did. The trivia is fun if you're reading alone or if you take turns reading with a partner and it's multiple choice too. Even more, the answers are found following each section with a short statement to provide further information about the correct answer. What I really love about this book is that the layout makes it a simplistic read that doesn't get boring. Even though it isn't a guide book, anyone (or any family) planning to take a trip to WDW can benefit from the exciting learning experience the book has to offer. It is a must read for first timers and fanatics!



3. The Walt Disney World Trivia Book is like the friend I've always wanted who flies me down to Disney (for free!)and proceeds to take me through every park, attraction, and resort, telling me things I never knew about my favorite place. With a loyalty only a true Disney connoisseur can possess ("ever hear of some guy named 'Bugs Bunny'? Hmph. Me neither."), Lou presents his information the way I like it-it's personal, frank, and fun. Kind of like Lou himself...drop him an e-mail, and you actually get an answer! If there is one Disney informant to swear by, it's Lou Mongello. Some of his facts I knew, some made me laugh, and some made me realize that perhaps I'm not the Disney expert I make myself out to be. All I know is that those around me will have to endure new rounds of Disney fact-spouting. I almost feel bad for them. They had assumed they were safe after our (sniff!) last Disney trip in 2005. Although I shouldn't really mourn the trip's passing; with the WDW Trivia Book, I'm there all over again.



4. My son and I love this book and we've only read the first section. We can't believe how much we're learning and how much we didn't know. We're enjoying finding out all the "little" things we never knew about Disney World.



5. Just received the Walt Disney Trivia Books, Volumes 1 & 2. I've read through both and cannot wait until my next WDW vacation. Thank you, Lou, for writing the best Disney trivia books ever. Just one question, when will there be a third?

5 comments about The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland 2008 (Unofficial Guides).

1. We took 4 teenagers between the ages of 12 and 21; a 72 year old and I am 51; the advice was spot-on; our only disappointment was no fireworks because the weather was too windy; otherwise, we did both parks in a three day driving turnaround from Phoenix during a quick fly-in Spring Break for the teenagers! A great time was had by all. Grandma DID get to celebrate her birthday in STYLE! Thank GOD for the motorized wheelchairs! They were a real lifesaver! -and worth every penny!



2. A number of friends told me about the book before our trip and being a single mom to a 6 year old I thought it was just good planning.... This guide was so helpful and wouldn't go on another Disneyland trip without it. Yes it is a little heavy and cumbersome to lug around with you but it saved us time and frustration more than once. The guide was right on about rating of the rides, particularly for a younger child. Next trip this book will be the first thing in the suitcase.



3. Love it, love it! I actually just purchased my second one - this one as a gift. Being raised in California, I had been to Disneyland more times than I could count. But someone suggested this book to me to plan a seamless first time trip for my best friend. I would not have done the trip without it! I reccomend this to anyone planning a first time trip, if you have never been it can be quite overwhelming: you will waste most of your trip wandering around and waiting in queues. Families will especially find the ratings guide handy when planning which rides would best keep the kiddies entertained.



4. bought this before our trip and it was well worth it - saves you ALOT of time!



5. I worked for Disney in "the Park," selling skulls and snakes in Adventureland-- right next to the Jungle Cruise at the palm-roofed hut that was once called "Tropical Imports." This was during my undergrad years at the University of California (translation: I worked at Disneyland, and I'm smart). I was born in Santa Monica, my parents met during a dance night at Carnation Gardens in Disneyland, and my dad and his wife still have annual passes to the park (translation: in case there was any doubt, I know what I'm taking about), yet I still learned many valuable things from this book; it rocks.
   
   This book is such a contribution! I recommend it to every person who's headed to the park. Buy it and take it with you-- follow the advice. The only time-honored recommendations this book somehow misses are:
   
   1. Grab a few mini bourbon bottles on the plane ride to California - they're perfect for spiking mint juleps at the Blue Bayou (no alcohol is served at the Magic Kingdom - DCA across the street is the closest supplier).
   
   2. Bran muffins, power bars, and canned coffee drinks are the breakfast of Disney champions. Throw a few in your backpack and gnaw on them at 7:45am when you're waiting for the ropes to drop.
   
   3. Bring a water bottle
   
   4. Wash your hands - ask park employees and they'll tell you they wash their hands BEFORE and after using the facilities. You don't know who grabbed that _______ just before you did.
   
   5. Load up everything you'll carry with you to the park, wear the shoes you're planning on, get junior in the stroller, put on the sunscreen, and take a 5+ mile walk every Saturday the three weekends prior to your departure. Either that or run 10Ks every weekend - one way or the other you'll remember to bring the ibuprofen.
   
   Enjoy!

5 comments about Hiking North Carolina, 2nd: A Guide to Nearly 500 of North Carolina's Greatest Hiking Trails (State Hiking Series).

1. Any traveler to North Carolina will be able to use this helpful guide to the state. It's full of information on numerous trails, including educational ones perfect for the family.



2. This was a good book for a general description of several trails in North Carolina, but didn't give many details. I think I was looking for something that would give me enough information to pick one trail out of them all to visit, but the brief descriptions didn't give me enough to go on. If you already know which trail you want to trek and it is one of the trails covered in the book, you're pretty well set. You will, however, need another map to know exactly how to get to that particular trail...the book has a map with a general location but no specific driving information.



3. Mr. Johnson's "Hiking North Carolina" is a guide for hikers by a lifelong hiker in the North Carolina High Country. North Carolina has hundreds of miles of hiking trail, and Randy has hiked most of them himself. The one risk of writing a guide about something you love so much, is to ruin the sense of adventure by including too much information. On the other hand, I have been hiking long enough to remember guides that would allow you to barely find the trailhead, much less give you good information about the trail and what you will encounter. There is a fine balance between a guide that tells too much, like the Appalachian Trail guides, and a guide that says too little, like some I see in popular magazines. I believe that Mr. Johnson's guide strikes a good balance between the two; telling you what you need to know while preserving the sense of adventure in the experience. It's the adventure that draws us into the woods after all. I recommend this guide for anyone who is interested in hiking in the state. His maps are quite detailed and well drawn, and his trail descriptions are enough to get you where you want to go without spoiling the fun of discovery. It is an excellent work and well worth including in your outdoor library.
   
   Robert Branch
   Burnsville, NC



4. This is an excellent resource and planning guide. I have nothing to add to the earlier reviews, most of which are 5 stars.
   
   The lack of GPS coordinates of the trailheads is the one glaring deficiency and the reliance on another map resource is no substitute. The copy edit staff should have done their homework and inserted this information, since it could be done from their desks. It appears instead that they put their efforts into misleading advertising -
   
   "Detailed trail descriptions, and GPS-compatible trail maps"
   
   Nevertheless, I have since purchased extra copies for gifts.



5. All of Randy Johnson's books are very informative. The maps and driving directions are excellent and also the trail descriptions.

3 comments about Archer's Quest.

1. I just cannot for the life of me figure out what to do with Linda Sue Park. Some authors write books that are spot-on gold all the time. Others can't churn out a decent title no matter how hard they try. Then there's Linda Sue Park. Garnering a coveted Newbery award early in her career, Park has had the unenviable job of showing the world that she remains worthy of that honor with every subsequent book she writes. I liked "A Single Shard", but somewhere in the back of my brain was the niggling suspicion that since I'm twenty-seven-years-old my response probably would have been different had I been a ten-year-old who had to read it in school. Ditto my response to "The Mulberry Project", in which silkworms, rather than pottery, were the name of the game. As if hearing my silent plea, Park has now come out with the far more kid friendly (but still darned informative) "Archer's Quest". The set-up is good, the story interesting, and the book a short sweet ride. You'd think I'd be in seventh heaven. Instead, I'm torn. On the one hand, it's difficult to criticize an author who takes as much time and attention as Ms. Park does with her work. On the other hand, something about "Archer's Quest" failed to grab me right from the get-go. Maybe it's the fact that Park has written a story found in so many other children's books. Maybe it's the low-key action. Whatever the case, "Archer's Quest" makes for a mighty fine read. It just didn't have that extra little oomph it needed to make it beloved.
   
   You think your day's been crummy? You've got nothing on Kevin. Sure, today was a half-day at school, but is he able to appreciate it? Not a chance. The year is 1999 and Kevin is bored out of his skull with only a bouncy ball to keep him company. Next thing you know Kevin's cap is hanging from an arrow sticking straight out of the wall. The arrow, in turn, belongs to a very oddly dressed man who is eyeing Kevin suspiciously and has his next arrow aimed at the boy in question. Turns out that the man is the great Korean historical figure Koh Chu-mong. Part Robin Hood part King Arthur, Chu-mong has somehow landed smack dab in Archie's bedroom some 2,054 years into the future. Kevin, may be of Korean descent, but he doesn't sufficiently know his Korean history to know enough about Chu-mong (who requests that he be called Archer, shortened by Kevin to "Archie") to help him back to his own time. Together the two must discover everything they can about Korean history, magic, the Chinese Zodiac, and some basic math before the year of the Tiger is up. And the year ends that very night!
   
   In a way, "Archer's Quest" is a historical novel. Sure it takes place in 1999, but that still places it firmly in the past. Park starts with a particularly interesting situation. You're in your bedroom, bored, and suddenly a hero from the past is looking to put an arrow in your heart. A great start, but a difficult one. Since the story must take place in the course of a single day, and since Kevin is such a realistic character that Park's afraid to ever put him into too much trouble, the story's action is downplayed. The most we get is an encounter with a real tiger, a race from a negligible enemy, and a run across a highway when the traffic has already been stopped. Her "villain" isn't even that villainous. Just misguided. Of course, limiting the action is Park's style. Therefore, if you've a kid who really got into "A Single Shard" or (more logically) "Project Mulberry", they are bound to enjoy this story just as much, if not more.
   
   The concept of a historical or fictional figure bumming around the present isn't new, of course. Everything from "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" to "Inkheart" has used it to their advantage. Where Park diverges from the ordinary is in making her hero a Korean folk-hero. Kids who've never had the opportunity to learn of the adventures of Chu-mong will find much to learn about here. In this way, the book pairs nicely with another recent historical-man-to-whom-folk-tales-have-been-attached character, Dick Whittington, in Alan Armstrong's, "Whittington".
   
   Ever attentive to supporting her stories with fact, Park includes a section on math in this story, while another attends to details involving Chu-mong, tigers, and RIT, and a bit on the zodiac. A Chinese Zodiac is located at the end of the book, and here I had a real problem with the book. Some children's books that discuss the Zodiac do what "Archer's Quest" did here and include each year with the dates ascribed to that year. For example, "The Rooster's Antlers: A Story of the Chinese Zodiac" by Eric A. Kimmel, includes a bunch of dates that fall within different animal years. The book is useful because these dates go a decade or two into the future. "Archer's Quest" on the other hand, stops at February 4, 2000. That's all well and good if the kiddies want to know what animal is ascribed to the year of their birth, but does absolutely no good if they want to know what the current year in the zodiac is. Obviously it stops around 1999 because that's when the story takes place. However, it would be heads and tales more interesting if it bothered to go a little bit into the future. Even if it were just a decade.
   
   None of this is to say that the book doesn't make for a good read. Linda Sue Park is first and foremost a premier children's book author and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. I just wish that this book had gotten a little more work done on it. It reads beautifully and will give a lot of enjoyment to some kids with the whole time-travel aspect. For others it will start out well, then peter off into the dull. A nice title but not my favorite Park accomplishment.



2. Kevin is a young boy, Korean-American, who is just following his normal routine of doing his homework--his boring, irrelevant history homework--when history comes to visit him in a quite unlikely way. His baseball hat is quite literally lifted off his head by an arrow of a strange visitor who insists that he just fell off a tiger's back. Unsure whether to call 911 or assume it's a bizarre dream, Kevin goes along with the odd man's requests. As he begins to explain modern life--glass windows break when you try to shoot arrows through them--he determines that the only way to make his life return to normal is to figure out WHO this guy is and WHY he's suddenly in his room. This leads him to do research both online and in person.
   
   The 'quest' is to find a way to send him back to his proper time. The solution--critical thinking skills, communication, math, and cultural research.
   
   While ARCHER'S QUEST is not my favorite Linda Sue Park novel. I think this modern-fantasy tale may prove interesting to some young readers.



3. This is a good light read. It never did say why Archer came to the different time period however I would still recommend this for fun. This book isn't extremely exciting but good enough to keep your interest.

5 comments about Laminated US/World Map (Economy Line Wall Maps United States and World 2 for 1).

1. I wanted something that didn't cost alot, and that the kids (ages 7&5) could use. These maps are a little bit big, but the kids thought they were great. They are laminated so I didn't have to worry about them tearing while I put them on the wall. I would recommend these maps.



2. These were two fully laminated 50"x38" beautiful maps shipped in a long skinny rectangular box.
   My 2 1/2 yr old loves to put stickers on the map to show where we and our relatives live.
   A great value!



3. These maps were just what I was looking for. The maps are large enough to actually read. And although they are not laminated cardstock (like what some of the other reviewers were expecting), it is still laminated and serves its purpose. I have one up in my 7 year old's bedroom and he absolutely loves it. And I have the other up in the closet. For the price, I think this was a great buy.



4. These maps were exactly what I was looking for. They are large and readable with colors to set apart each state or country. You will enjoy these maps and your children will learn easily from them.



5. These maps are laminated for protection. They are quite large, so be aware of that if you want to hang them on your walls.