No comments about ZAGAT Long Island Restaurants 2008/09 (Zagatsurvey: Long Island Restaurants) (Zagatsurvey: Long Island Restaurants).

No comments about Maine 2009 Wall Calendar.

1 comments about Rail-Trails New England: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island & Vermont (Rails-To-Trails Conservancy Guidebooks).

1. There are now more than 13,00 miles of open rail-trails across the country. The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy is an organization of more than 100,000 members and a leading advocate for trail and greenway 'recycling' of obsolete railroad corridors and rights of way. The official guidebook of the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, "Rail-Trails: New England" is a thoroughly 'user friendly' guide to railroad related trails in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Profusely illustrated with maps, as well as black-and-white photographs, "Rail-Trails: New England" is the perfect planning guide for biking or hiking along pathways created from unused railroad corridors that have been converted to recreational use by the public. some rail-trails are paved and run through scenic parts of New England townships, others are unpaved paths through scenic countrysides. Enhanced with detailed maps for every rail-trail (plus driving directions to trailheads), "Rail-Trails: New England" also features icons indicating each trail's use, along with succinct descriptions written by truly knowledgeable and articulate rail-trail experts. If you are planning to avail yourself of the recreational and exercise opportunities of rail-trails anywhere in the New England region, then begin with a careful browse through the pages of "Rail-Trails: New England"!

5 comments about Big Island Of Hawaii Restaurants And Dining With Hilo And The Kona Coast.

1. This book is an excellent guide for delectable dining on the Big Island. We were fortunate enough to visit both sides of the island and dine at several of the recommended establishments. After dining on excellent scampi at an Italian bistro in Hilo, we sampled dessert with the locals followed the next day by innovative pizza overlooking the bay. It all proved quite satisfying.



2. Being a frequent traveler in Asia and Eastern Europe I have come to rely on culinary guides like the Hawaii Restaurant Guide Series. My enjoyment of diverse culinary experiences is enhanced when I have good understanding of what I will partake in. The Carpenters are very knowledgeable and straight forward in presenting the cultures, cuisines and preparations involved in a wide variety of dining experiences. This latest offering, "Big Island of Hawaii" is an education in the dining practice and an invaluable guide to individuals with a taste for adventure and a discerning pallet. I highly recommend this guide.



3. Wow! Another great book from the Carpenters! I have received 2 of their VERY interesting books so far and I am lookig forward to reading more, by them, in the future. They are very straight-forward and full of very useful information. I highly recommend their books for the tourists as well as the locals. They have done the research for me.....WELL DONE!!!



4. I recently visited the Big Island and brought the usual guidebooks including this new restaurant guide. This volume is well-researched and provides visitors with an unbiased, and well-written guide to many Island restaurants. There are reviews on every type of restaurant from high cuisine (Merriman's in Waimea) to local diners with huge portions (Hawaiian Style Cafe with real people and friendly service ). I agreed with each review of all the places visited and feel that the authors have done an excellent job of helping sort out too many dining choices. Tako Taco is an obscure place in Waimea but has some of the best Mexican style food anywhere in the Islands, and this guide does an honest evaluation of a place that should not be missed.
   I look forward to using the authors' other books when visiting Kauai and other islands next year.
   I found other guidebooks with restaurant sections to be too generalized and not as comprehensive.



5. "Big Island Of Hawaii Restaurants and Dining" became a Bible, of a sort, for eating on a recent trip. Without it, selecting restaurants from the multitude of choices on the island would have been hit or miss. Every one of the places where we ate were listed in the book and fit their revues perfectly.

No comments about Not For Tourists Guide 2009 to Chicago (Not for Tourists Guidebook).

3 comments about The Dog Lover's Companion to the Pacific Northwest: The Inside Scoop on Where to Take Your Dog.

1. Found the book to be very informative and accurate, even down to "where the road may seem to end but look to the right and you'll see the sign for" ... etc. Very helpful guide. Loved the advice of the Wonder Weiners!



2. For those of us who like to include our dogs in our adventures, this book is a great guide. It covers western WA & OR, as well as the southwestern corner of BC, Canada. Each of these areas is subdivided into regions such as the Kitsap Peninsula or the San Juan Islands. Within that region dog friendly locations are rated and described. You get the scoop on the good and bad of each location, which helps when you're trying to decide if it's worth visiting. You can also tell which locations allow your dog to be off leash. Places to eat and stay the night are also noted and described.
   
   One thing I didn't like about this book is that it only covers Western WA. I had hoped it would cover Eastern as well.



3. This book is a MUST-HAVE for any dog owner(s) that takes the pooch with em when they go! It has a GREAT rating system and also highlights "people-interests" as well as places to dine, places to stay and of course detailed "dog-places". I say, "Buy one for yourself and one for the dog-lover in your life." Awesome book!

4 comments about 50 Best Short Hikes in Utah's National Parks: Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Arches, Canyonlands (50 Best Short Hikes).

1. Great book!! Had excellant descriptions, difficult ratings and pertinent info. A must for hiking in Utah's National Parks



2. There is so much information you'll need for day hiking in Utah's National Parks.It tells you what the best seasons are for the hikes,distances,elevation gains,difficulty ratings and average hiking times.It's a fun,well organized,easy to read book with lots of nice pictures and maps.It's a great book and for a great price!!!One of the best!!!



3. I purchased this book prior to a trip to Zion and Bryce National Parks. I've read a number of hiking guides before and found this one particularly helpful. The author gives excellent details both on the difficulty of the hike and what you can expect to see. After hiking most of the trails in both parks, I can vouch for the accuracy of the guide and found the information very useful.
   
   The sole drawback is the lack of color photos which would add far more impact to these descriptions. This is a common failing of this type of book but it a shortcoming even so.



4. I bought this book because I was looking for short hikes for our family with elementary-aged children in all the titled Utah Nat'l parks. It does do a good job of describing the hikes in very great detail, how to get to the trail head, etc. Each hike is rated according to it's difficulty and child-friendliness and length of time to complete. This is all very good and helpful. However, I discovered after the fact that most of this same information is available on the National Park Service website and the brochure available for free at the visitor center, including some that aren't in the book.

3 comments about Frommer's Virginia (Frommer's Complete).

1. Concise, up-to-date and useful descriptions of attractions, hotels and restaurants around Virginia. Not a tremendous amount of depth of information on any one spot, but if you're traveling around the state, this is a good guide.



2. A very comprehensive guide for the state of Virginia. Even though I am a frequent visitor to Virginia, I found many new interesting places to add to future itineraries.



3. in it that you'll never find all in one place. I used it and was pleased with it

5 comments about Imagineering Field Guide to Epcot at Walt Disney World, The.

1. I love to read about the designing and background to the evolution of the Parks & Pavillions. Each one gets 2-4 thin pages. I'm still looking for the book that gives the depth that Jason Surrell did for his "Pirates OTC" book.



2. If you love Walt Disney World and enjoy a little behind the scenes trivia, then this book is for you. Beautifully printed with pictures and lots of insights to how my favorite park has evolved. Fun stuff to pass the time with.



3. Well written and I enjoyed much it has to offer, I wish it was more detailed into the secrets, like the underground tours and some of the behind the scenes opportunities that are available, all in all well worth reading for Disney fans, I wouldn't pay over twenty for it though.And I would pass it around for all to read, it definatly enhanced our trip to the Magic kingdom.



4. These books tell you all about the story behind Disney World like Pirates Of the Caribbean's Never ending game of chess.



5. This book is a wonderful value for all the information stuffed inside its binding. The author covers the creation and construction of all of the current World Showcase attractions as well as Future World, and the author also touches on the attractions that never were built. If you're looking for a more extensive list of all the un-built attractions this isn't the book for you, however, if you want a taste of EPCOT's history you're looking at the right product.
   
   The size of this book and the fact it has a fold-out park map makes it easy to take with you to the EPCOT park, and can help you soak in all the details one might miss on a given visit.

5 comments about New Orleans, Mon Amour: Twenty Years of Writings from the City.

1. Sometimes it takes someone from elsewhere to really appreciate a place. I have long been a fan of Andrei Codrescu's NPR commentaries and knew that he lived in New Orleans so when I saw this book I knew it would be good. It is. Codrescu, like so many of us who choose our new "hometown" loves everything about New Orleans and sees it with both loving and honest eyes. Like all great lovers he loves the flaws as much as he loves the beauties.
   
   He writes about his years on carnival krews, about hours spent prowling the French Quarter, about Marie Laveau the legendary voodoo queen and other New Orleans characters, about food and the cemeteries where people meet as if they were parks. He writes about not being able to get out of his hammock --- all with wry humor, grace, and appreciation. And he writes with anger about Katrina and its aftermath.
   
   I have only visited New Orleans but love it and was happy to be transported back there through the words of someone who notices everything and sees it honestly. I particularly appreciated some of his literary references. WARNING: this book can cause you to buy a lot more books. But, if you love New Orleans, you will treasure them, too.



2. Terrible retelling of what makes New Oleans special. Codrescu's account shows what's wrong with the city before and after the great storm. He is a tourist, do not look to him for insight into our great city.



3. "New Orleans is Blache DuBois" the essayist tells us and in a few lines, he gives the evidence for something that we may have suspected. Here is a city that brags about its great literature and then begs you not to read it-or at least not take it seriously. Come buy our life, it says, just don't look at all the death.
   And so, unlike many other love songs to particular places, Codrescu's is sad. Perhaps some other cities will evoke the same sense of folly and loss- Venice is a likely candidate-but you can't imagine a similar book about New York or Prague or even Rome.
   This is a book of essays whose roots in radio are obvious. You can almost hear them spoken aloud. They are also remarkably personal-the author sees America as a displaced Rumanian-turned-American. The perspective is valuable and he doesn't deny the reader its benefits. Read him following the National Guard as it responds to a flood on the Mississippi near Hannibal, Mo. to be undeceived about us. Read his obit for Jim Monaghan, romantically crusty barkeeper to be gently hoodwinked again.
   These are stories about a city, but more fundamentally stories about displacement and encountering one's second home town.
   All in all, a great and provocative entertainment.
   
   Lynn Hoffman, author ofbang BANG: A Novel which is set in the author's second home town.



4. I picked this book up for a research project but it turned into a wonderment! I've fallen in love with the city, in that exciting kind of romance of meeting an exciting stranger, and all the while knowing that our relationship can't end well.
   When driving across town, I had my wife read it to me. It's flash article format makes it great for lots of quick reads. My wife enjoyed reading it too.
   
   Nice job Andrei!



5. Fantastic - evocative, inspiring and engaging. Great writing about a fantastic city - it puts me in mind of that great NOLA title by Richard Katrovas - Mystic Pig. Definitely get it - you won't regret it.