1 comments about Buildings of Virginia: Tidewater and Piedmont (Buildings of the United States).

1. What you get here is the architecture of Virginia and the expertise (and lovely writing style) of Richard Guy Wilson. Really, what else could you ask for? The ensemble of structures covered here is diverse and distinguished. The critical skill of the author is unmatched. As far as architectural guides to historic structures go, this is about as good as they get. A truly outstanding ensemble of historic structures skillfully analyzed by THE authority in this particular field. I only wish he'd gone further west. Winchester! Lexington! Roanoke and Lynchburg! And of course, little Fincastle. There's so much left to be done!
   
   Three cheers for the comprehensive survey of Richmond, a gem of historic architecture.

No comments about Blue Ridge Mountains: America's First Frontier.

1 comments about ADC The Map People Metro Richmond, VA: Street Atlas.

1. The deFacto standard for the backseat of a Richmonder's car, this edition finally shows some nice computer-drawn streets instead of the hand drawn maps of yesteryear.

2 comments about The Height of Our Mountains: Nature Writing from Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains and Shenandoah Valley.

1. The book's title is a quote from Thomas Jefferson, "The
   height of our mountains has not yet been estimated . . .".
   Jefferson's essay is among the 70 reprinted here, from
   1612 to 1948. This historical material is fun to read
   and is a great resource for children and others studying
   Virginia's history and geography.



2. This is a great book for anyone who is interested in the natural and human history of the Blue Ridge and Shenandoah Valley region. It contains over 70 essays from authors such as John Smith, Thomas Jefferson, John James Audubon to Edwin Way Teale and Annie Dillard, spanning nearly 400 years. The book has a highly informative, if somewhat didactic, introduction (which itself can be read as a brief history of the nature, culture and literature of the region) and many fantastic maps and illustrations. Preceding each essay is a short description of the author and the source of the selection (which I like very much), and there is also a thoroughly researched and meticulously organized bibliographical essay.
   
   One can bring it along on a hiking trip in the Blue Ridge and read a few essays on a sunny meadow or a rocky summit, or use it as a portal to the rich literature about this region.

No comments about Virginia (America Series).

1 comments about Frommer's Las Vegas Day by Day (Frommer's Day by Day).

1. Really helpful when you are wanting a quick reference. The website has all the same information too.

2 comments about A Guidebook to Virginia's Historical Markers.

1. If you're reading this review, then you probably already know that Virginia has a very rich collection of historical markers. There are so many, in fact, that if you were to stop to read each one every time you took a road trip, you'd never make it to your destination. That's why a guidebook to the markers should be an indispensable car accessory.

   This isn't that book, however. On a recent trip along Route 15 from Leesburg to Charlottesville, at least /half/ of the markers weren't listed in the book. Nowhere. Not Oatlands Plantation. Not the Old Carolina Road. Not any of the signs starting with "Z" (e.g. Greene County, Madison County, etc.) Admittedly, the book states in the introduction that it covers only /official/ markers, i.e. those that have been approved by the state commission. But there's no explanation of how to identify official ones, nor are the signs that we saw probably unofficial--they all have letter/number designations that fall within the gaps in the book's listing (except for the aforementioned "Z-" signs). It's very disconcerting to speed by a sign, take note of its number, only to find that it's not in the book. What a disappointment. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any other option--the Margaret Peters book is superceded by this one.

   On the positive side, the book's indices are quite handy. Signs can be looked up by county or by historical events, such as famous battles.




2. 
   Virginia has one of the most extensive highway marker programs of any state in the nation (North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Texas are close rivals). Although this book details around 1,500 markers, there are many markers situated across the state that are not included. From the introduction: "The traveler should be aware that, while there may be other historical markers that resemble the state's in shape and design, only markers formally approved by the state are included in this book." Why unapproved markers that copy in shape and design approved ones should be allowed is an interesting question, but this review will confine itself to the book at hand.
   
   Most VA historical markers (there are about 30 exceptions) were designated by letters (usually corresponding to a major highway) and number. The first part of the book lists all the markers and their texts alphabetically by this letter designation. Realizing this would not be particularly useful to the traveler, the second part of the book arranges the markers by three additional categories: subject, county, and straight alphabetical order by marker's title. Any marker can be found quickly and easily in the guidebook. Travelers in the state with an interest in its history will do well by this book, despite the frustration of not finding all the markers out there listed. It's also fun to look through sitting at home in your favorite chair. A good guide to local history in Virginia.

5 comments about Virginia Climber's Guide.

1. this guidebook has absolutely no info on trad lines and contains little detailed info besides driving directions to an area. plus the cliff drawings are either incomplete, too sparse or generally unuseful in orienting yourself. there are no topos, little indication of bolt lines or anchors but if you just want an idea of where a few climbing areas are go ahead and buy it.



2. My climbing partner and I decided to go out to the Shenandoah to hike and do some toprope climbing. We figured we'd head out to White Oak Canyon based on some of the climbs that were described there, completely unaware of the ambiguity of this guide. We couldn't find anything. We had a much easier time finding climbing without it just by following the trail and using intuition than by finding it with the guide. Bizarre landmarks like "at the first bridge, with the northwest facing boulder" (there was no boulder at either of the first two bridges), and the lack of a general area map (climbing areas are listed in A, B, C, etc...but there's no actual map to get you to them in most cases) led us to abandon any hope of climbing in the canyon, even though there were some beautiful spots near the first set of falls. Too bad the guide doesn't make use of such an obvious landmark as the 60 foot waterfall. After hiking a mile and a half back up and out of White Oak Canyon, we decided to go to Blackrock, which according to the guide was "the only place where you could be clutching for your next fingerhold and hear 'Johnson, party of five, your table is ready'". Apparently it was located on the Appalachian trail directly behind a resort lodge. The guide couldn't possibly screw this up, right? We found the Appalachian trail fine. There was no climbing to be found anywhere near the lodge. The guide didn't tell us which way to turn onto the trail. It gave the impression that it would be obviously visible from the trail, but walking a half mile in either direction from the lodge with significant bushwacking in topographically curious areas turned up a single 18' cliff that didn't resemble any of the diagrams in the book. Don't buy this guide. It will only get you lost, frustrated, and angry at Jeff Watson.



3. My climbing partner and I decided to go out to the Shenandoah to hike and do some toprope climbing. We figured we'd head out to White Oak Canyon based on some of the climbs that were described there, completely unaware of the ambiguity of this guide. We couldn't find anything. We had a much easier time finding climbing without it just by following the trail and using intuition than by finding it with the guide. Bizarre landmarks like "at the first bridge, with the northwest facing boulder" (there was no boulder at either of the first two bridges), and the lack of a general area map (climbing areas are listed in A, B, C, etc...but there's no actual map to get you to them in most cases) led us to abandon any hope of climbing in the canyon, even though there were some beautiful spots near the first set of falls. Too bad the guide doesn't make use of such an obvious landmark as the 60 foot waterfall.

   After hiking a mile and a half back up and out of White Oak Canyon, we decided to go to Blackrock, which according to the guide was "the only place where you could be clutching for your next fingerhold and hear 'Johnson, party of five, your table is ready'". Apparently it was located on the Appalachian trail directly behind a resort lodge. The guide couldn't possibly screw this up, right? We found the Appalachian trail fine. There was no climbing to be found anywhere near the lodge. The guide didn't tell us which way to turn onto the trail. It gave the impression that it would obviously visible from the trail, but walking a half mile in either direction from the lodge with significant bushwacking in topographically curious areas turned up a single 18' cliff that didn't resemble any of the diagrams in the book.

   Don't buy this guide. It will only get you lost, frustrated, and angry at Jeff Watson.




4. This guidebook is the product of a small mind. It's about
   toproping on crappy boulders. Why would someone waste time
   to go to some 20 foot chosspile and climb some nameless
   route? This guidebook sometimes lists routes that are
   22 feet long - did he go out with a ruler and measure the
   height of the route as 22 feet? What if he went one foot
   to the right or left - would that make it 21 feet or 23 feet?
   I cite this merely as an example. This book is dry, uninspiring,
   and has no vision or aesthetic sense. After looking at the
   guidebook, it made me think that there was no worthwhile
   climbing in Virginia, and Jeff Watson has a very small vision
   and extremely low level to mediocre taste in climbing.



5. General information is bland. Descriptions of routes sketchy at best. The parts dealing with 'ethics' and 'accessibility' are potential entries to a yet unwritten history of content-dodging.
   There are standards to how climbing routes are described in sketches and diagrams. This book ignores them. It will be a miracle if you find your way based on this information.
   As someone that wants to *actually* climb in VA, I simply had to toss Watson's book and get another one.

1 comments about Virginia on My Mind (On My Mind Series).

1. This coffee table book offers a complete photographic review of beautiful Virginia - from the history to the mountains to the seashore. Quotations from numerous Virginians provide that "extra" touch that makes the photographs even more meaningful. I intend to give the book for a wedding gift.

No comments about Kids Love Virginia: A Family Travel Guide to Exploring "Kid-Tested" Places in Virginia... Year Round! (Kids Love Virginia & Washington, DC: A Family Travel Guide to).