5 comments about New York Atlas and Gazetteer (New York State Atlas and Gazetteer).

1. I wanted to get this atlas, especially to help us find places to go camping and hiking.. It's not always easy to find campgrounds or primitive campsites (since they're not always located in clearly identified campgrounds), so having these detailed maps is very useful for that. We recently used the atlas when we camped in the Catskill Mountains region, and I was glad we had these maps to help us out.



2. These are fantastic maps! I have several others, and use them quite often. I don't know of another one that will be better than this one.



3. I currently own CO, TX, TN, VA and now AL atlas & Gaz.
   all are useful for home hunting, trying to locate a key area, etc.
   don't count on this for in depth directions. but a good look at contours and gps this works.
   this one isn't as good as the TX or TN version.



4. Already have an Atlas, topo CD set of Northeast, Garmin GPS Vista with topo/street maps. Once I found these Gazetteers, I bought one for every state in New England and New York. Each of the above provide different levels of information and alternative routes and access to various locations, often places with no direct road or trails. The gazatteers provide fast detail access to areas in question over the GPS or atlas and are invaluable to me while in the vehical. Although, the GPS is my lifeline away from the vehical, the gazatteers are large and not weather resistant.



5. The product came on time, well packaged, and exactly as described. A great shopping experience.

5 comments about Detroit Then and Now (Then & Now).

1. Absorbing book in magnificent color on Detroit's past and present. Worthwhile for anyone interested in history of the city of Detroit.



2. This book is fine or those new to Detroit, but as one who knows Detroit well, this book doesn't provide much.
   
   Most of the photos are taken at a different area then it was originally taken from. I could see it being acceptable if it were no longer possible, but in most cases the area is possible.
   
   The information is good for the most part, but more could have been added for those whom already know the story.



3. I got this book from my library through an ILL, and this book is GREAT! I am 17 and planning on relocating to Detroit, and wanted to see what the city looks like. This book is the only one with actual photos of Detroit in and around the city. Wonderful pictures from earlier times until now. The book was so good, I went out and bought it. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to see detroit or for anyone who wants to see one of the best cities in the world.



4. Excellent contrast between what Detroit used to look like and what it looks like today. The Renaissance Center development is especially stunning. The Comerica Building is also very impressive. Detroit needs to continue revitalizing old abandoned industrial sites. Overall, an excellent book that I recommend.



5. AS A NATIVE DETROITER(EAST DETROIT ACTUALLY)I FOUND THIS BOOK TO BE INTERESTING IF NOT SOMEWHAT DISHEARTENING.THE AUTHOR HAS DONE A GOOD JOB OF SHOWING HOW A ONCE GREAT CITY IS SLOWLY DESTROYING ITSELF FROM WITHIN.THE LACK OF FORESIGHT ON THE PART OF THE CITY AND ITS' FAILURE TO PROTECT ITS' ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE IS SAD.DETROIT COULD TAKE A LESSON FROM NEW YORK ON HOW TO PROTECT AND REVITALIZE ITS MANY BUILDINGS.THIS BOOK IS A MUST READ FOR ANYONE WHO REMEMBERS THE CITY AS IT WAS AND HOPES FOR ITS' POSSIBLE REJUVENATION IN THE FUTURE.

5 comments about Lonely Planet New Orleans (City Guide).

1. I have long been a fan of Lonly Planet and this book helps me continue the trend. With this invaluable guidebook, we selected our transportation from the airport, hotel, and must see, do and eat lists. Everything was great! Information is presented in a clear, concise and HONEST way. We knew where to go and what to skip. The book is durable and easy to tote around. A must!



2. My trip to New Orleans this week was without a doubt my best road trip ever. This guide made it possible. Having only been to New Orleans three times, I was concerned about being able to fill four days with events other than sleeping off the previous night's madness. This book enabled me to drag myself and my friends around town like a native. I cannot recommend this book enough (or the Chicken Roulade Tchoupitoulas at K-Pauls, also 5 stars)!!



3. Another quality guide book from the folks at Lonley Planet. Can't go wrong here, great research as well as a lot of post-Katrina information. Highly reccomended for any savvy traveler!



4. not the best of travel books for this city, does not list the casino nor show on a map,



5. I thought that this was a nice resource for my time in New Orleans, which was regretfully short (only three days). I will caution that I pretty much never left the French Quarter - Hotel Monteleone was gorgeous and comfy! - so I can't speak for the other areas detailed in the book. The maps are excellent, and the restaurant suggestions matched my boyfriend's personal experiences.

4 comments about Planet Golf: The Definitive Reference to Great Golf Courses Outside the United States of America.

1. This book has not only some of the most inviting golf course photography ever - by world-class Australian Photographer David Scaletti, but a collection of very well-researched, concise and precise reviews by Darius Oliver, one of Australia and the world's most able golf architecture writers. A must have book for all golfers that will even start the architectural education of the uninformed. This book is not only incomparable but affordable.



2. The Planet is indeed well served by this magnificently produced volume worth buying for the photography alone.



3. This book is a bargain at the original price. At $24 it is extraordinary value.
   
   I have just bought several copies, ordered through Amazon, to give to my best golfing friends.
   
   The photography is superb, as is the book's production quality. I am both a keen golfer and photographer, as you can see from my other reviews, and I commend David Scaletti for his extraordinary work.
   
   The narrative by Darius Oliver is wonderfully frank, well-argued and original. I also enjoyed his clear and joyous descriptions of each of his favorite courses throughout the world (excluding the U.S.).
   
   The focus of the book is on the courses outside America, because so much excellent material already exists on the Top U.S. Courses.
   
   The book covers the Best Courses in the UK and Ireland, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, Canada, Mexico and Central America, Asia and Africa.
   
   If you are like me you will be planning many trips to visit these Masterpieces of World Golf.



4. I enjoyed the overview and the fine illustrations of the golf courses.
   It tantalises one to the point that you would like to go and play them.

No comments about ZAGAT New York City Nightlife 2008/09 (Zagatsurvey : New York City Nightlife) (Zagatsurvey : New York City Nightlife).

4 comments about New York: 365 Days.

1. A thick, 744 page book presenting the flavor of the world's premier city. Though the title suggests a visual year it is more a selection of photos arranged round themes: sports, travel, markets, the weather, construction, entertainment, civic events, personalities etc. Each gets a few pages with some images going back to the nineteenth century though most are from the thirties onward.
   
   I thought the selection was quite impressive, there is something for every New Yorker here. Some of the names of the fifty-one photographers in the index will be familiar to readers of the Times. Neal Bonenzi, Sam Falk, Vincent Laforet and Ernie Sisto get the largest showing. Two of Laforet's are particularly stunning: his night time Manhattan skyline from July four 2005 with the sky alight with fireworks and the amazing shot from January thirteen, 2001 looking down on two workman repairing a colored light at the top of the radio mast on the Empire State (I was always curious about this photo because neither of these guys are wearing hard hats). An unfortunate omission, perhaps, is any work by Weegee. He brilliantly captured the lives of the working class over the years but his photos only appeared in the down-market tabloids.
   
   The landscape format of the book works perfectly, the photos (with some in color) are either one to a page or one to a spread, and all have comprehensive captions. This is a fascinating book, dip into it anytime to remind you of the rhythm of the city.
   
   *I wonder if the publishers will do similar versions using the photo libraries of other great metro papers like the San Francisco 'Chronicle', Chicago 'Tribune' or the Washington 'Post'?
   



2. 
   Nice book, not very expensive, mixing old and news photographs of subjects
   about New York.
   A good journalistic panorama.



3. This is just an amazing collection of fascinating photographs from the archives of the New York Times. Gay Talese offers a brief introduction, but the stars of the production are the incredible photographs drawn from the turn of the 20th century to the present, one for each day of the year--with some in color. There is no table of contents; it is best to just start thumbing at random. Common topics are: personalities; buildings; neighborhoods; music performances; subways; bridges; contruction; weather; immigrants; sports; and politicians. Each picture is captioned and has a short write-up, often a brief excerpt from the NYT story where it originally appeared. Some fotos I found especially moving: returning World War I troops marching past the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1919; early shots of the lower East Side; LBJ and John Glenn in a tickertape parade; JFK visiting the city; plus a 15 page collage of sunsets, morning with fog, and sunrises. The common theme is people living and interacting in the city. Beautifully printed by Abrams, there is an index to the pictures and photographers. I can't think of another book that so artfully conveys the essence of NYC as completely as this inexpensive volume.



4. I gave this book to my sister because her dream is to go to New York and she was extremely happy with it.
   
   The book contains beautiful pictures from many different years (the book includes many black-and-white photos) and many different places and gives a very good overview of how fantastic New York is.
   
   I've never been in New York, but once I'll go there, maybe together with my sister?

5 comments about Aftermath: Unseen 9/11 Photos by a New York City Cop.

1. IF you have been collecting books, videos and material about 9/11 [I'm a history teacher]
   this is a nice addition. The copy is more interesting than the pictures that we've all seen,
   sadly.



2. This book meets the criteria of the film noir movies of the 40's and 50's: oneiric, strange, erotic, ambivalent, and cruel. Well, not erotic. And unlike the films of those days, the pictures here, and the stories that they tell are true.
   
   This is a book composed of pictures made in the days after 9/11. They were taken in black and white, and are somewhat grainy. The photographer, John Botte, a police detective and world-class photographer, was assigned by the police commissioner to document the aftermath at the World Trade Center. He was there, day after day, breathing the dust from the concrete, the insulation, and everything else - getting a lung condition that almost cost him his life.
   
   Out of the thousands of photographs he too, he has selected this couple of hundred and created captions that sometimes explain, sometimes just comment on what is being pictured.
   
   It is indeed a fitting AFTERMATH to 9/11.



3. Former officer John Botte has done a wonderful job putting together images of the immediate aftermath of 9/11. The black-and-white photos show both the tragedy and hope of the people involved in the rescue -- and later, simply the clean-up -- of this horrific event.
   
   The only thing I would have enjoyed more would have been captions for all of the photographs. As it stands, only about one in ten of the pictures has any type of explanation.



4. This book contain hard and touching images about the aftermath in New York city.



5. While the pictures were intreging i was disappointed with the quaility of the photos in the book especially considering they are calling the photographer a professional not an amiture that got published. They are VERY grainy.

5 comments about Dances With Marmots - A Pacific Crest Trail Adventure.

1. Although I commend the author for his courage and humor, some things about the book distracted from reading pleasure. This read like a self-published book (maybe it is) that had not been edited at all. There were no paragraph indents, and many sentences were run-on (strung together with commas when there sould have been a period). I'm not a stickler about grammar, but this was distracting and made it hard to read. There was also a problem with tense and scenes suddenly switching. For example, in a camping scene, the author would suddenly mention that he saw 3 bears while camping, but it turned out that this was referring to something that would happen several chapters later, so that during the present scene I would wonder, "Where are the bears?" Often I would hope for an interesting scene only to be disappointed by a blow by blow of each day and night on the trail (including the days where nothing really happened). If you can deal with the amateur style, you may enjoy this book.



2. This book was an easy read, but disappointing in its lack of photos and descriptions of life on the trail and destinations seen.



3. Now I want to hike the Pacific Crest Trail. The story is well told, a real page turner. Well written, very interesting, and an inspiration for getting myself on a trail.



4. A hilarious romp through the wilds of North America. Anyone thinking about hiking the PCT should definitely buy this book!



5. This was a great read. I love reading trail journals and this book was no exception.

5 comments about Off the Beaten (Subway) Track: New York City's Best Unusual Attractions.

1. Indeed, this travel book is truly unique. Blending fascinating information with humor, mild expletives, and Yiddish phrases, Ms. Reisman creates a relaxed writing style that is as appealing as the colorful cover is eye-catching. The perspective traveler wants to peruse the book from cover to cover as if it were a novel, and not just a catalog of destinations, in order to discover what she has to say. The reader is simultaneously enlightened and entertained. Whoever dreamed that guidebooks could be so much fun?!



2. Having recently moved out of NYC after a LONG time living there, reading this book makes me want to move back right now! I wish I knew about all these cool places while I was living close by.
   This book highlights a lot of little-known and interesting places all over the city that are easily accessible on public transportation. The wide range of places means that anyone can find something of interest. It is organized by location, so the visitor can plan on doing several things with one trip and gives great directions on how to get there and what to expect. A little bit of the history of each place rounds out the vivid descriptions, so I felt like I was actually visiting the places just by reading. What a great and out of the ordinary guide-book!



3. Suzanne Reisman is a wonderful guide through off-the-beaten-track New York City. This guide is well-written, entertaining, thoroughly researched, and full of wonderful gems for any traveler or NYC dweller looking for quirky, fun, and enlightening things to do around town. I love the troll museum. Highly recommend!



4. I love love love this book! I've been to 3 of the places so far and love that everything is easily (mostly) accessible and pretty spot on with the descriptions in the book.
   
   Plus, each attraction's description is not only digestable, but filled with a great traveler's context, unlike some Lonely Planet versions where you never really get the context of WHY something is fun to visit!



5. There are so many books on New York's attractions that one might wonder at the need for yet another, but this book is a key and the first to focus on a hundred off-the-beaten-path destinations, from small museums and nearly forgotten historic places to odd shops and small oddities. A geographic arrangement aids in the journey, with chapters offering addresses, hours, directions, web sites, and long paragraphs of enticing description. Recommended for any travel library strong in New York City attractions.

5 comments about The Ultimate Food Lover's Guide to Houston.

1. My copy arrived yesterday, and being a big fan of My-Table magazine, I was expecting a superior product. The book is not organized in a logical fashion, nor does it rate the restaurants, or indicate the cost of a meal.
   As a restaurant guide it's not very useful at all.



2. I love this book!! Since I moved to Houston I've been amazed at how great the food scene here is. But it's always been a challenge to know where to go because there are so many places with such a variety of restaurants, especially when I have friends visiting from out of town. Now I have one copy in my car and one at home and use it all the time. I am even reading the book when I'm not looking for a restaurant. There are so many places to go which I haven't even tried yet, and the comments are pretty accurate without being too bitchy. I never knew about the farmers markets until I read about them here. Great information for anyone who is into good food. This is a hefty book and a lot of fun too. I recommend it to anyone into the Houston food scene.



3. Much more than a guidebook to area restaurants, "The Ultimate Food Lover's Guide to Houston" is just that, a guide to all the interesting and important spots that a food lover should be aware of in one of the country's best food cities. There are descriptions of the best wine bars, farmers' markets, pubs, ethnic grocers, butchers, cooking classes, and much more, in addition to brief profiles of restaurants of every stripe and price range that you ought to know about if you like to dine out. Editor Teresa Byrne-Dodge, along with her team of writers, brings a great understanding and balance concerning all things food-related about the city of Houston that might be missing elsewhere, and which makes for very useful and accurate copy. She reported on restaurants for the "Houston Post", created the successful "My Table" magazine (where I often contribute), and was the long-time editor for the Houston portion of the Zagat Survey; she knows the expansive food and dining landscape better than anyone, which gives this small volume additional heft. Not incidentally, it makes for a fitting complement to my "Houston Dining on the Cheap", and a great resource for anyone who enjoys food in Houston.



4. After reviewing this guidebook, I decided to purchase 2 copies--one for the office and one for the house. At home, we use it to help search for a variety of restaurants and at the office, we use it to choose where we will spend our lunch and happy hours. Frank and opinionated, The Ultimate Food Lover's Guide to Houston is a definite must for those wanting to get out of their restaurant and bar rut. Plus, it has reviews on grocers, bakeries and info on food festivals and cooking classes. An true all-around food publication!



5. I'm a New Yorker and I love this book! Like New Yorkers, Houstonians know their food and their food lovers! I couldn't wait to get my copy and it did not disappoint! "The Ultimate Food Lover's Guide to Houston" takes you to the vibrant underbelly of Houston cuisine. It's ethnically diverse, edgy and, most of all, useful. Teresa Byrne-Dodge and her team from "My Table" magazine have done it again--this book is just what I'd expect from a globally recognized family of food writers, publishers and editors. It's a must have in a foodie's paradise. Raise your fork and your credit card and order this book now!