5 comments about Yosemite, The Complete Guide: Yosemite National Park.

1. A great general information/guide book for Yosemite.
   
   I highly recommend this book for everyone. If you haven't been to Yosemite before, you get high quality photos of what is to come and some great general trail information to help plan your trip. If you have been, it is still a good buy as it is more than just a trail guide. The first 100 pages provide history and geology of the area and are a quick but fun read. In my opinion, it is just a great overall book to own. I plan to purchase the author's books about other National Parks in the future.
   
   I also purchased the Moon book for Yosemite. It has more details on hikes, but for the average vacationer, I think this book is better.



2. Thought this was the best of the Yosemite guides I previewed. Great mini typo maps covering different areas of the park. My only complaint is that the maps are not oriented with North at the top, so it took some time to get the orientation correct. Other than that, the book is great.



3. Bought this book back in March for a trip in early May. At the time, there was only one review, but I bought it anyway as it was the most recently published guide available.
   
   Wow - the day it arrived, I sat down and read it front to back. The history of the park, the geology, the history of the Native Americans who lived on the land ... I was so impressed that it was more than just a "camp here" and "eat here" kind of guide.
   
   What this book has over the others out there:
   - The most gorgeous photos. It made me giddy with excitement to go and see those places for myself!
   - a small but helpful section with pictures of the most common wildlife and plantlife that you encounter in the park (ended more than one debate about "what flower is this?!")
   - Information about the native tribes' names and legends for the features in the park, or other important history of a particular place, highlighted in boxes set off from the main text.
   - A sizeable section on the High Sierra Camps and hikes around them. Absolutely made me want to do the whole circuit (maybe next year...)
   - This guidebook was clearly a labor of love for the author. This wasn't compiled from a bunch of staff travel writers ... it was written by someone who obviously knows the park extremely well and has chosen to highlight only the best parts, to give readers the best experience in Yosemite.
   
   Why this might not be the book for you:
   - There are no compass markings on the detailed mini-maps. This bothered others in my group more than me.
   - Very few details on lodging. Not a problem for me, as I already had accomodations booked, and the lodging choices in the park are few anyhow, but this book is better for planning your TRIP, not your STAY.
   - The descriptions of the hikes are kind of vague. If you are going to Yosemite to back-country hike, this isn't the book for you. If you want the best day (or 2-day) hikes, he hits the great ones. I was relieved to see how well-marked they are once you're on the trail.
   
   I thought this guidebook was absolutely cream of the crop. So did my mother and sister-in-law - they each wanted to steal it from me and keep it as a coffee table book! (I bought them each a copy once we returned home)



4. This guidebook was perfect. It included all the information you would want to know visiting Yosemite. The pictures are beautiful and give you a great idea of what is to come. I think his descriptions of the trails were very accurate and helped make my trip to Yosemite perfect. I am going to buy all his books!!



5. Nicely organized with accurate descriptions and nice photos. The recommendations helped us sort out what to do during our short stay. Highly recommended!

5 comments about A Year in the World: Journeys of A Passionate Traveller.

1. I'm sorry, but this book was ultra boring. I couldn't muster up enough energy or interest to even finish it.
   
   I myself, suffer from wanderlust. My extensive travels have taken me to some of the same locales as Mayes, so I was looking forward to reading about them from her perspective.
   
   However, I'm a writer myself--and while I haven't published a book about my travels I do keep a popular travel blog and write editorials for my local papers upon my return. But, trust me I've written more interesting narratives on a postcard home to my family than Mayes manages to do in 20+ pages.
   
   My advice--skip the book, and opt for a nice program on the Travel Channel instead. I guarantee it will be more fascinating and informative and you get the pleasure of avoiding Mayes's pretentious ramblings.



2. I just finished this book and loved it, I don't really understand the bad reviews. One I read said she didn't think Mayes's heart was in it. Unbelieveable! It makes me wonder if she really read the book. Mayes' "heart", her heartfelt impressions of the places she visited, ran throughout the book. I strongly recommend this book if you love to read about travels and particularly if you like the way Mayes writes.



3. I really liked this book only because I just came back from a trip to Spain, Portugal and Scotland and shared many of France's opinions and observations. I can see where others would be annoyed by her flowerly language and occasional overblown descriptions. I'm buying this to keep (the copy I originally read was borrowed from the library) just to remind me of my latest vacation!



4. Which Napoli is she talking about? It sounds
   ideal compared to the real one - no problems
   with garbage, no rioting in the streets and at
   the docks, no mafia stranglehold on
   the government - where is this Napoli?



5. Frances Mayes has had so much success as a writer. No doubt she never dreamed that her adventures in Tuscany would bring her best-selling books and a film based on the first book. That must have been very exciting and gratifying--beyond words. We all can't wait to read what she has to say next. I think that's why there is so much disappointment about this book. I mean why is it that once a writer had so much success the editors no longer cut as much as they should? She is so full of herself in this book, whereas in her other books her writing was delicate and poetic.
   
   It's not to say that this book doesn't have it's moments. In fact, I am inspired by some of her perceptions of her destinations and many of them are similar to ours. But some of her perceptions are way over the top. That last chapter is some sort of fantasy that, frankly, I wish she had kept to herself! Her inflated self-image needs to calm down a bit.

No comments about Day Trips from Phoenix, Tucson, and Flagstaff, 9th: Getaway Ideas for the Local Traveler (Day Trips Series).

3 comments about National Geographic Guide to the State Parks of the United States, 3rd Edition (National Geographic's Guide to the State Parks of the United States).

1. I did not understand the definition of "state park," so the entries are more limited than I expected. For example, the Adirondacks is not included in the New York State section. Overall, there is much information, but I still will need to check the internet before departure so that we do not miss the kinds of areas we would like to visit. That is what I thought I was avoiding.



2. This book has a great deal of information but it doesn't list the parks I wanted to find. For the state of Florida only five are written up! Since there are over 40 Parks in the State, I found this Ludicrous.
   This book picked the top 200 state parks and completely ignored all the others. I was expecting a list of parks in each state with codes for facilities and a few highlighted with more information.
   I bought the book so I wouldn't have to look up each state on the internet. Not only did it not meet my expectations, but I thought it was very expensive. It was a big disappointment. Save your money and just use the internet.
   .



3. We just purchased this book a couple of weeks ago, and we've already visited three of the suggested state parks. The format is attractive with a nice picture from each park, detailed information on the park, and suggestions for other attractions in the area. It is laid out by region: "New England," "Southwest," etc. with about five states in each region and about 4-5 parks from each state. We live in Texas, and although we think there could be other parks mentioned in the book for our state, we agree that the choices are representative of the variety of state parks here. We have already visited two of the suggestions in Oklahoma (which we found has great state parks) and one in New Mexico which was beautiful. Our goal is to visit ALL of them over the next several years! We've always enjoyed staying in state or national parks while camping - now in our new AirStream trailer (yeah!), but any traveler could visit these parks as day trips, also. Besides being informative, it's a great read.

5 comments about Las Vegas Then and Now (Then & Now Thunder Bay).

1. I was finally able to visit Las Vegas last year and bought several Vegas books as souvenirs. Unfortunately, most of the books only provided information on present-day Las Vegas. Also wanted were pictures of the Las Vegas I had seen on TV as a kid. After all, that is what gave it its magic & attraction to me.
   
   This book provides that. Pictures of the old & new are featured on opposite pages for easy comparison. The pictures are large, sharp, & clear, & are of excellent quality to this layman's eye. They are also accompanied by short paragraphs of essential facts such as build dates & owners, along with information peculiar to the specific buildings.
   
   I highly recommend this book to the nostalgist.



2. I drove through Las Vegas in 1975 and was so unimpressed I didn't even stop and get out of the car. I wanted to see if this book had any photos from that era and was pleased to find out my memory wasn't faulty. I was also there in the mid '60s and the late '90s and the book didn't let me down on those memories, either.



3. this is a nice book with very beautiful photos ,a must for people who like
   to learn about other cities evolution.



4. I purchased the book for my son-in-law who enjoyed it VERY MUCH. Great Book.
   Shirley Nordby



5. It's a nice big book with plenty of contrasting photos of various locales in Las Vegas.
   
   Each photo, old and new, comes with a brief description and/or historical fact of the structure or location. The info is informative and interesting.
   
   While I enjoyed the photos that were presented, the format makes it too "black and white". So basically you get the very beginning photo and then the most current photo(usually in the 21st century).
   
   Would've been nice if they could've included some transition photos, as a lot of casinos went thru various changes throughout the years.
   
   Overall though, I enjoyed the book as it managed to evoke my deep memories of Sin City.

5 comments about Virginia Atlas & Gazetteer (Virginia Atlas & Gazeteer).

1. This Atlas, like all in the DeLorme series of Atlas & Gazetteer references, are wonderful map resources. A wealth of information is included. If anything, the level of detail, coupled with the topographic information, may seem a bit too much at first glace (if you are new to these guides). But if you're willing to spend a bit of time with the maps, you will find these guides to be very useful.
   
   In addition to the maps and the useful indexes and cross-references, these guides include listings or location sources for hiking, camping, fishing, recreation areas, unique natural features (waterfalls, bridges, caverns, natural areas, etc.), bicycle routes, horse trails, etc. And of course, GPS (Lat/Lon) coordinates are printed on each map.
   
   Although the scale of these maps demand it, it would be nice if the guide book dimensions were a bit smaller. At 11" x 15.5", it's a good size book, so it's not quite as easy to stow in the backpack or the motorcycle storage area, etc.
   
   Overall, these are excellent guides for any traveler or outdoor enthusiast.



2. great product! these maps even show little dirt roads that are on private land! amazing!



3. I have used the NC version of this book for years and due to metal detecting alot in VA got this version. It works great in laying out back roads and areas I have been looking at on computer based topo maps. Great product.



4. We'll be using this atlas for an RV trip. Although we haven't yet done the trip, the maps look like what we need (detailed, topographic, forest/side roads). I will say that it's missing decent regional and statewide views. The Benchmark California Road & Recreation Atlas, Fifth Edition (Benchmark Road & Recreation Atlas)series does an excellent job of panning the state, and then drilling down. The Gazetteer series just has the drill-down. Makes it tough when you want to get a macro-view of your route.



5. This is the best Atlas/Gazetteer I've found around at least for the areas I travel and can vouch for the details. It's a great resource for those times when you need to get off the main roads and see where the back roads take you. This map has a lot of the small details that I was looking for, trail heads, boat ramps, camp grounds, wineries, ferries, waterfalls, etc. The topo lines are pretty easy to read and elevations are well marked for this style of map. It's also pretty easy to cross reference to your GPS unit.
   
   What this map lacks are the details you need for in-town travel, and that includes downtown in the small towns. When the roads get too tight you're gonna need a different map because this one only has one size (1:150k or 1"=2.4miles) I also think they should have included phone/web contact info for their places of interest and a couple of blank pages in the back for notes. (Quick tip: I covered the inside back cover with post-it notes so I can take notes and move them to the page I really need them on.)
   
   Quality of the book is decent and should last long enough. The book is a bit big (15.5"h x 11"w) so don't plan on keeping this one in the glove compartment!

5 comments about Hometown Revelations - How America's cities, towns, and states acquired their names.

1. This is a pretty fun book to read while on road trips or looking at maps. My biggest complaint is that the book is probably 70% focused on Missouri and Kansas. I personally try to avoid driving across both of them, so the road trip value is minimal to me. The history is pretty interesting though, and the state section is great. Overall, this is a fun book for trivial knowledge- it would be of particular interest to someone who enjoys cartography and US History.



2. This publication reminds me of those publications you see at the counter of a Stuckey's checkout. I call it that because it's too slim to be an actual book. At 95 large-type pages its more like a thick pamphlet.
   
   It reads like the author spent a few afternoons gleaming information from Wikipedia.com. There's no real scholarly research here and each entry is barely a paragraph long. Fine if you need something to read during a long car trip but otherwise totally unsatisfying.
   
   I agree with the other review in that too much emphasis is placed on MO and KS. Way too much is left out. For example, how did the town of Ninety Six, S.C. get its name? Not in there.



3. Every one journeys down a road past a town with a funny or unusal name and thinks in the back of their mind how a community came up with such a name. This is a great book for answering some of those questions and might spark an interest in doing a little research on your own. You might be surprised how many people don't know how there hometown got it's name.



4. So often I felt that there was more to the story. In fact, in a couple of instances I KNEW there was more to the story. And there are so many curiously named cities that were completely ignored. Learning that yet another town was named after a person got to be boring after awhile. I got the impression that very little actual research was done.



5. This is a pretty good book. Easy to read in one afternoon or while traveling down the road in the passenger seat.

No comments about Top 10 New York (EYEWITNESS TOP 10 TRAVEL GUIDE).

5 comments about Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13.

1. Jim Lovell's dreams of landing on the moon were literally blown away in April 1970, when an oxygen tank aboard Apollo 13's service module exploded less than a day away from lunar orbit, forcing the crew to limp home under perilous circumstances. More than two decades after surviving that mission, Lovell (with his co-author Jeffrey Kluger) has written an excellent account of that ill-fated moon flight.
   
   LOST MOON is one of the best of the Apollo books I've read, especially one concerning a single mission. This is also one of the best books about the work of mission control, who were the key figures behind the successful return of the crew. It is as complete a description of this mission as we are ever likely to see. The attention to detail is on a very high level, and the amount of transcripted dialogue is plentiful, well presented, and from a myriad of sources. There are a number of slightly testy exchanges between Lovell's crew and mission control, highlighting the tension of the situation in an honest and unapologetic manner. The examination of exactly how the accident happened, as told in the epilogue, is covered exceptionally well.
   
   An aspect of the book that bothered me was the decision to use a third-person narrative throughout (which is defended unconvincingly in the author's notes). I had never before read any autobiographical account in which the central figure is treated in the third person. Basically, I was looking forward to reading Lovell's descriptions of events using his own voice and experience, and that didn't quite happen. To read Lovell -- one of the most engaging personalities of all the early astronauts -- diminished by such an impersonal, veiled perspective was disappointing. It adds nothing to the writing, and ultimately I felt it was a disservice to the book, though a minor one. If the authors had their doubts about mixing third-person and first-person perspectives successfully, they could have taken some cues from Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins, who wrote two books in that style and who is regarded as perhaps the best writer among the former astronauts.
   
   Despite its compromises in narrative style, LOST MOON (or APOLLO 13, depending on the format) is an outstanding biographical account of the failed 1970 moon flight. It is potentially a five-star book if the writing had been appropriately personal when it counted the most.



2. If you're into the space program and what happened during this era, then I can't think of one reason why this shouldn't be in your library. It's one of my all-time favorite books.



3. As someone who has been fascinated with space flight since childhood, and who well remembers the real Apollo 13 from his teenage years, I found this book a fascinating reminder of history. However, this book is about much more than the aborted flight of Apollo 13. It includes historical flashbacks that involved astronaut James Lovell. One chapter describes Lovell's teenage years as he launched homemade rockets. Another summarizes the early years of space exploration in the wake of Sputnik 1. Still another describes the selection of Lovell as an astronaut in late 1962. There is also a chapter on the Apollo 1 fire. Some of Lovell's closest friends perished in that needless tragedy. There is a fine description of the historical flight of Apollo 8, that Christmas lunar orbit in 1968. It included a reading from the Book of Genesis.
   
   Now on to Apollo 13. In preparations for potential in-space emergencies, no one had imagined the simultaneous loss of both main oxygen tanks and all three fuel cells. This left the Odyssey itself with only a few hours of remaining oxygen, water, and electricity. Lovell and Kluge note that mission rules forbid a lunar landing if only one fuel cell becomes inoperable, even if nothing else is wrong. But the "Can the moon landing be saved?" quickly gave way to "Can the astronaut's lives be saved?"
   
   The initial belief was that a meteoroid must have hit the ship. This later was discounted when the blown-open side of the service module became visible shortly after being jettisoned prior to re-entry. Clearly, the explosion must have originated from within the service module itself. Later investigation pointed to a confluence of factors, none decisive in and of themselves, that had combined to precipitate the near-tragedy. To begin with, the wrong-power fuses were being used within the oxygen tanks. When overloaded, they simply melted, allowing the overload of electricity to pass through. During assembly, the oxygen tank had been dropped, damaging an exit tube. During launch-pad exercises, the liquid oxygen was drained past the damaged exit tube by applying extra heat and driving the oxygen out another way. The sensor was not designed to warn of overheating above 80 F. Meanwhile, this procedure had unknowingly raised the temperatures to impossible levels, burning the insulation off much of the wire inside the oxygen tank. The first two times the stirring fan was turned on in space, there was no problem. But the third time, a spark must have flown and ignited the damaged insulation in the pure-oxygen environment, causing the explosion. The explosion itself damaged a tube connected to the second oxygen tank, thus draining it.
   
   The book provides good detail about the dangers and challenges associated with the abort procedure itself. The decision was made not to attempt to fire the service module engine in order to reverse the flight direction in a deep-space abort, if only because the damaged service module might be unable to take the strain of the engine's thrust. The first critical burn of the lunar module's descent engine, done some six hours after the explosion and designed to change the hybrid trajectory back into a free-return trajectory, would have caused the Apollo 13 to crash into the far side of the moon if done incorrectly. Without the burn, however, Apollo 13 would be stuck in a 40,000 by 240,000 mile elliptical orbit around Earth. Thoughts were entertained about jettisoning the useless service module and using the lunar module's descent engine to accelerate the ship considerably--returning it from the vicinity of the moon to Earth in only some 36 hours. But this was not done out of fear that exposure of the command module's heat shield to the temperature extremes of space might damage it.
   
   Everything on the ship had to be powered down--a strategy that worked, just barely. The severe cold aboard the ship, a secondary consequence of the powering down of all nonessential equipment, is described. The astronauts had a frosty breath. Some got urinary infections. They had a hard time getting comfortable enough to sleep.
   
   The astronauts were slowly being poisoned by their own carbon dioxide. This was solved by the jury-rigging of the lithium hydroxide "scrubbers" of the command module to get them to fit into the circulation system of the lunar module. Just before re-entry, there were the challenges of successfully reviving the systems aboard the command module, and jettisoning both the service and lunar modules in a completely unconventional manner.



4. This well written book is a great time line of what really happened. I also enjoy the movie and this book fills in the gaps that were not covered in the movie. Also gives detailed accounts of nearly everyone involved in this mission.



5. This book was the basis for the movie Apollo 13. America had become complacent about our space shots by this time, which is something I still do not understand. But that may be because I worked so long at the Kennedy Space Center and always knew and still understand how dangerous each and every launch is. Apollo 13 was to have been the fifth mission to the moon. But two days into the trip, on April 13, 1970, the oxygen tank exploded in the command module, placing the three astronauts in grave danger. Lovell describes those terrifying days as astronauts, contractors, and Mission Controlled struggled to bring Apollo 13 safely back to earth. If you want to read what really happened by someone who was there...this is the book for you.

5 comments about George Washington's Socks.

1. George Washington's socks is a great book! In the story a boy named Matt go on an adventure with his frends and his little sister. They travel back in time to the Delawer River and go on an epic adventure full of tragedy, action, mystery and lots more! I highly recomend this book to any one who is a history fanatic or just wants to learn something and have fun at the same time.
   
   HAPPY READINGS!!!



2. George Washington's socks is a great book! In the story a boy named Matt go on an adventure with his frends and his little sister. They travel back in time to the Delawer River and go on an epic adventure full of tragedy, action, mystery and lots more! I highly recomend this book to any one who is a history fanatic or just wants to learn something and have fun at the same time.
   
   HAPPY READINGS!!!



3. Hi, I'm here to warn the public that this load of crap woodruff calls a book is the worst thing in the entire world. GOD!!! she just had to kill gustav, what's your freaking problem lady!!?? Sheesh, rowboats don't go back in time, you'd be a moron to read a piece of crud like that!!! And she killed Israel! she's not an author, she's a murderer, I tell you! She's starting to make Olaf and Voldemort like merrily skipping church ladies.
   Phil Oldants



4. I first received this book in first grade, and it is the first book I remember reading when I arrived to America at six years of age. It has stuck with me ten years later, and I still remember growing teary-eyed when reading about the young boy who dies in the snow.
   Sadly, I lost the book during a move, and I thought I wouldn't be able to find it anywhere else, but Amazon is just good for everything. ;] So now I'll be able to reconnect with my childhood and hopefully let my younger brothers experience it with me.



5. This was a great book with lots of heart and history. A perfect read aloud for families....