1 comments about Frommer's California's Best-Loved Driving Tours (Best Loved Driving Tours).

1. This is an excellent resource IF YOU WANT TO TAKE A ROAD TRIP. All the routes are written for those who are going to be driving from place to place. If your plan is not to drive then you may want to consider the National Geographic Traveler (California. It has more information about more places and activiies.

1 comments about Streetwise Denver Map - Laminated City Street Map of Denver, Colorado - Folding pocket size travel map with integrated light rail map & trolley stations, Boulder inset (Streetwise (Streetwise Maps)).

1. I lived in New York City for 35 years and always used/recommended Streetwise New York to visitors. (Their lamination means you DO NOT ruin the map -ever) Well my wife and I moved to Denver and The Streetwise Denver Map proved very useful becasue we were lost...Then on our first trip to Boulder,Co. (a genuinely hip community) mapless alas I got lost...but low and behold Streewise Denver had Boulder on it and voila --- lost no more. Seriously these are good maps. I used them whenever I travel and have wasted money on other brands but always come back to Streetwise. For one thing I've found them accurate in extremis which in a city like Rome or Venice Italy is extremely helpful let alone Naples where accuracy can save your life. (Such a dangerous dump Naples is.)
   
   Now if they would just do a map of Vail and Aspen and Telluride I would never leave Colorado.

2 comments about Moon California Fishing: The Complete Guide to Fishing on Lakes, Streams, Rivers, and the Coast (Moon Handbooks).

1. Tom Stienstra has spent his entire adult life exploring the outdoors in California and the Pacific Northwest. He supports his avocation by writing guidebooks to the state, the most popular being California Camping and California Hiking, the latter co-authored with Ann Marie Brown. But his true passion is fishing and it shows on every page of this book, the eighth edition of California Fishing.
   
   Like other books in the Moon California recreational series, this one divides the state into 15 geographical regions ranging from Redwood Empire and Shasta in the north, to San Diego County and the desert regions in the south. Each region is given its own chapter and prefaced by a map giving noted locations for each write up. Every chapter then includes 10 to 80 fishing locations, each of which is briefly described, along with local boating regulations, nearby camping or resort opportunities, and similar amenities. Of course you will also be told what to expect, best seasons to visit, and some strategies for each body of water.
   
   Fishing is an enormously addictive activity. As I child I owned multiple tackle boxes and would dream over my lures nightly as fishing season approached. I gradually moved away from fishing towards hiking exclusively, but after reading the book, I find I am again bitten by the bug. This April may well find me backpacking in Henry Coe State Park, and should that be the case, I will bring along some ultra light equipment and see if I can tempt a few bass or bluegill. So be forewarned; this is an excellent book, but it can lead to seriously reevaluating the relative importance of many things in your life. A t-shirt my mom gave my father sums this up nicely: We interrupt this marriage to bring you the fishing season!



2. This book is awesome, and especially great for the beginner, with plenty on tackle and techniques at every lake, reservoir, stream and pier worth fishing...and even a few that aren't! I used to fish as a kid with my dad, and am trying to get back into it. After reading this book I caught my first rainbow trout in 25 years. 'Nuff said.

5 comments about Chicago Architecture and Design.

1. This book described many of the significant architects in Chicago history. I found it to be informative and very readable. It is the best book I have found which summarizes Chicago Architecture. The color photograghs are excellent



2. I thought this book was very interesting it has great pictures of the buildings in Chicago. It has alot of information about the beginning of when Architects wanted to build something modern but unqiue at the same time. Get inspired by the great exterior and interior of these amazing buildings.



3. This book provides an excellent introduction to Chicago's numerous schools of architecture over the years. It also provides a photographic tour of the city's important buildings, from the late 1800s to the present day. The photography is great! Highly recommended for fans of Chicago or architecture buffs in general.



4. This book has beautifull photographs. The book is much deeper than other Chicago architecture books because it has a well thought out historical review of the progression of Chicago architecture. Interesting even for the lay person like me.



5. My nephew loved it. He grew up in Milwaukee, went to school and lives in California. He comes to Chicago about every other year.

5 comments about Colorado's Thirteeners: 13,800 To 13,999 Feet, from Hikes to Climbs.

1. This is the best book I have seen on Colorado 13ers. It lists at least 2 routes per mountain with a few exeptions. He tells the difficulty of each route and from that I can know if that mountain or route suits me. There are lots of coler pictures of the mountains and topo maps of each mountain showing the route up each peak. The routes are coler coded so you can see what class the routes are. It also gives a unofficial name to many of the unnamed peaks. The back of the book has 3 lists of all mounttains in colorado above 13,000 feet which also includes every point that reaches above 14,000 feet. This book with a 14er guide will tell you how to climb colorado's centenials.



2. Colorado's Thirteeners: From Hikes To Climbs is a superbly presented, full-color guidebook to Colorado's highest mountains in the 13,800 to 13,999 feet range. Presented for the edification of outdoor enthusiasts, Colorado's Thirteeners includes 59 major peaks in six of Colorado's mountain ranges (Front Range, Tenmile-Mosquito Range, Sawatch Range, Sangre de Cristo Range, Elk Range, San Juan Range); 202 routes to the major peaks (71 routes on 71 additional peaks); 96 trailheads with detailed driving directions; twenty-two different approaches to the remote peaks; distance, elevation gain, difficulty scale, and effort ratings for each route; thirty-three full-color, annotated topographic maps; more than sixty full-color, annotated photographs; and three comprehensive tables of Colorado's highest peaks. If you are planning an outdoor vacation of hiking, climbing, and camping in the mountain country of Colorado, begin your planning with Gerry and Jennifer Roach's Colorado's Thirteeners!



3. While filled with approach and route info, this book is less than I'd hoped for or expected. The maps are printed at such a small scale that you almost need a magnifying glass to read them, I found the route numbering system and many of the extremely detailed route descriptions confusing even on climbs I'd already done (does anyone really have a sense of what 0.1 mi is?), and few of the photos are really of much help - better captions would certainly help. Many of the routes I'd expected to see described weren't mentioned at all even though the book is pretty hefty, partly because of a lot of duplication of material. I've found the accuracy of the driving distances to various waypoints to vary considerably - sometimes they're right on, other times they're long by up to 10%. And I think they've misclassified several of the climbs, though partly this is due to a confusion over whether they're using the Colorado standard for 3rd and 4th Class climbs or the California standard.

   I could also say I found the closing essay on guide books in general both puzzling and annoying. The authors write as if their's is the first book (or webpage) in this area ever revealed to the world when it's not; the essay only highlights the fact that they ignore all who have gone before.

   The book is not a total waste of money, but I'll probably stick with my 1st ed Garratt & Martin and/or Rosebrough (for the San Juans) as my primary sources even if they're not the most up-to-date books out there. Perhaps a later edition will be better than this 3 - 3 1/2 star effort.




4. First, a note of caution. If you're a casual hiker, this book will not be beneficial. This is geared more for the elite hiker or climber. However, if you're in this league, the book is informative, instructive and accurate, Gerry Roach writes well and gives the hiker all the essential information needed to make the trek. I live outside of Colorado and only visit for a few weeks each year, specifically to climb 13-ers and 14-ers. Being unfamiliar with the Colorado roads and most of their trailheads, I necessarily rely on this guide to get me to the trailhead with no hassle and accurate driving directions. Roach has never disappointed me. He gives exhaustive directions and includes a map for each trek. If you need a four-wheel drive vehicle to get to your destination, he will let you know. If you have a drive on a dirt road for 6 miles to reach the trailhead, that information will be included.

   He also describes the trail conditions, whether it's rocky, has scree, is exposed and has a ranking system for how difficult the hike is. If there is scrambling involved or permanent snow fields, he lets you know. If it's a class 3 hike but listed in other guides as class 4, Roach makes the correction and explains why he feels this way.

   There are separate chapters on the unique and often volatile weather in the Colorado peaks. This is imperative for out-of-state hikers who aren't familiar with the frequent, violent afternoon thunderstorms in the Rockies. When I did Pike's Peak for the first time, I photocopied Roach's chapter on this mountain and took it with me in my pack, and was glad I did. When the thunderstorms began, I descended ASAP, following his advice. This is an outstanding hiking guide. I wouldn't hike in the 13-ers in Colorado without it and neither should you. Enjoy!




5. This book is the authoritative, indispensable guide for climbing the "centennial thirteeners" in Colorado. That is, those of the 100 highest peaks which aren't quite fourteeners. Gerry Roach has written several excellent guide books, including Colorado's Fourteeners, which is still the standard guide books on that subject. I believe this book is his best work. 59 major peaks are covered, with multiple routes, distances, elevation gain, level of difficulty, and detailed route descriptions. What more could you ask for? Beautiful color plates and annotated topo maps? They're in there also.
   
   The appendix is also valuable as it includes three lists of all 800 or so Colorado summits over 13,000'. The lists are organized by elevation, quadrangle, and alphabetically. The lists identify parent peaks, rise, and other data.
   
   Printed on high quality, slick paper, the book wears well. I refer to it frequently and so far I have found all the information contained in it to be accurate.

5 comments about Road Biking Colorado: The Statewide Guide.

1. Michael Seeberg has written an excellent road biking book for all the passes here in Colorado. And the hundreds of color photos are such an excellent source. I have read the book and fully recommend it whether you are a cyclist or not. The infomation and the super pictures are well worth the price. Finally a book with it all! And what a great gift as well.



2. Finally- a bike guide focused on the pavement not the dirt. Nothing against off road riding, just all the Colorado guides are focussed on trails and dirt even though most riders ride on paved surfaces. Thorough and detailed, I cannot think of a paved ride that isn't included.



3. This book is great--well organized, good maps and elevation profiles, not to mention the color pictures.
   
   If you like to road bike and go exploring at the same time, this is the book for you!



4. This book was great for my vacation to colorado this summer. It went into great detail. So I knew exactly what i was getting into. For example altitude and intensity. He also shared stories of him riding the routes. He also only writes about routes to take on the roads... not the trail, which i was glad because i can find a bike trail map if that is where i wanted to go. I stayed in summit county which does have really great bike trails. I wish he would go from state to state finding all the great biking routes!



5. This book shows many routes of 70, 80 or even 90 plus miles, and all of them are point to point with the mileage computed ONE WAY. The author gives no hint of what you are supposed to do after a 90 plus mile ride over tough terrain. Turn around and ride back? Have someone follow you in a car? A much more pratical book is one of the Falcon guide series, which either show a loop route, or, if it is out AND BACK, count the total mileage, not just one way. Duh.

5 comments about Boston (Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guides).

1. I bought this guide directly in the USA when I arrived because differently from others of this series it has not been translated into European languages (not italian at least). I want to say that I have used this type of guides before and found them very useful and entertaining. "Boston" is a useful guide to get an idea of the town, because it divides it in rational and well defined sectors eventhough the large and small scale maps are in different parts of the book, and so not easily found at thumb. The description of all the individual sights is sufficiently satisfying but I found the book lacking in overviews of historical, ethnic, economical, litterary, artistic issues, differently from other books of the same series. For example it gives no idea whatsoever of religions in Boston, whick are extremely important to understand the toponomastic of the city and its development. There is never mention of a churches belonging to this or that confession.
   As to artistic features, they are singularly mentioned in the places described but there is no overview as to where for example to find all works by Sargeant or Lafargue or Bullfinch, etc. Even modern architecture is not sufficiently described, some of the beautiful skyscrapers are just given for granted, while people interested in modern architecture would appreciate a notation on these buildings. Another point, in most of these guides there is a notation on places that must no be missed, so it is easy to choose in advance what to do that single day. Unfortunately the authors have not provided this kind of indication, which would be useful.
   The interrelationship between the people, the culture and the city is not well examplified. Naturally I understand that this is not possible in this kind of guide, but as I mentioned other books from this same series are better.
   I enjoyed using this guide even if at times I was slightly deluded.



2. My family and I took a trip to Boston in July 2006. This guide was incredibly helpful. We used this little book our whole trip. There is a great section on Boston on a budget and a wonderful map in the back.



3. Used this book for a 2 day trip. I like the pictures and images and history, but it's a bit light on other things. It didn't do as good of a job helping to prioritize. I'd buy them again, but only as a supplement to other bigger guides, not as my primary.



4. I spent a week in Boston and this book was great in helping me plan that trip. It offers lots of suggestions by region of the city which was a great way to plan. The restaurant recommendations were excellent and it is always fun to see what they recommend as the regional dishes. For those looking to soak up the history, culture and fun of Boston this is a great book to use in planning that trip.



5. As with all Eyewitness Travel Guides - you can't do better. Great breakdowns by area, highlights of top tourist places and lots of other items of interest, also a great brief history. The book brought out lots of special interest info that the guides didn't even talk about.

3 comments about Lost Gold and Silver Mines of the Southwest.

1. I wrote the original book in 1963 (as Lost Desert Bonanzas) to mark 25 years of Desert Magazine lost mine stories. The main appeal was Norton Allen's great cartography (this is the only kind of map book that gets better as the maps are outdated by freeways and etc.). I would like input from treasure-seekers, but all I know about the particular lost mines is recounted in the book.



2. What is a book about lost mines without maps? The maps in the book were neat. Maybe the gold is still there?



3. This is a good read just to fire the imagination on a cold winter night. It's also a good one to get filled with bookmarks, margin notes, dog-ears, and fingerprints on the bookshelves of serious treasure-hunters. Buy it.

1 comments about Mobil Travel Guide 2008 Southwest (Mobil Travel Guide Southwest (Az, Co, Nv, Nm, Ut)).

1. Our family has been using Mobil Travel Guides for years and I am disappointed in the content. Before the Internet age, I would use the guide when traveling to new cities on business trips. It was very handy to find above average restaurants and / or hotels in those locations.
   
   Lots of the small towns have been eliminated in this edition and the details for large cities like Phoenix and Scottsdale have been down-sized.
   
   Not up to previous standards.

No comments about Finding Birds On The Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail: Houston, Galveston, and the Upper Texas Coast (Texas A&M Nature Guides).