5 comments about Lonely Planet Vietnam.

1. I recently spent about 3 weeks in Vietnam. It was a great trip and I highly recommend visiting Vietnam to anyone who enjoys travelling in Asia.

   With that said, I feel that during a trip to Vietnam, the Lonely Planet book is absolutely one of the most important books to have, to read before you go, to look at while you are there, and to reflect back upon when you get home.

   The book was great. It was so good, that I was constantly passing it up and down the bus to other people on the trip. Everyone used it, and to my surprize there were some people that had never used a Lonely Planet book. LP is the best, and they have never let me down. There Vietnam book is no exception.

   If you are going to Vietnam, buy and use this book.

   It is a great purchase.




2. I spent this summer studying in Vietnam, and it became clear that the Vietnam in the LP is quite different than the real Vietnam I saw with my own eyes.

   I think the book was intended for travelling businessmen who only plan on staying in Vietnam for a few days, and have plenty of money to spend for plush hotels. This is regrettable since there is so much more to Vietnam than tourist traps, tourist-oriented restaraunts, and hotels.

   For example, in my first couple weeks in Hanoi, Vietnam, I followed the book's suggestions for restaraunts, only to realize they were severely overpriced, and not nearly as tasty (or exotic) as the more "local" restaraunts. Before long, I stopped going to the LP's preferred restaraunts altogether. Only when I stopped following the LP altogether did I really start to delve into Vietnamese culture, both the good and bad.

   Also, the LP tends to whitewash the more unpleasant aspects of Vietnam, such as being harassed by people on the street, who are more than eager to rip you off, and the grueling poverty. If one really wants to appreciate Vietnam, these less pleasant factors have to be taken into account.

   If you plan on just "visiting", but don't really plan on getting to know the culture, this book may be enough. However, to truly appreciate both the good and bad of Vietnam, I suggest avoiding this book, or at least not relying on it too much.




3. LP Vietnam, as several others have mentioned, is misleading and out of date. But even worst, is that it tries to scare most travelers into following its suggested itinerary instead of venturing out on their own. I was going to outline some of the more glaring mistakes, but other reviews beat me to the punch.

   In defense of LP, who have produced decent guidebooks in the past, Vietnam may be changing at such a fast pace that as soon as it was published much of the information was already out of date. However, not all the mistakes can be blamed on a country in the throws of rapid changes and as such as easily dismissed.

   Hopefully the next edition will have greatly improved and won't be written in such an amateurish way. However, I think I'll pass and try the Rough Guide or take my chances without a guidebook! What a novel idea...




4. I bought the Vietnam LP on advice from my roomate who never travels to a new place without one. The Vietnam LP soon became my bible in Vietnam, not to mention every other travelers that I met there as well. In fact kids on the streets of Hanoi and Saigon often sell photocopied versions of these LP's to tourists. No other tourist book is more popular there, and for good reason.
   I used my LP all the time. I kept a bottle of water under one arm (Vietnam in July is hot) and my lonely planet under the other. Every question I could possibly think of LP had an answer for and a story and a map to go along with it. Honestly I can't recommend a book higher.



5. I just got back from a three week trip to Viet Nam, and would have been lost without my trusty LP guidebook. I travelled from north to south and was never at a loss with the help of this book. Granted LP should have put in diacritics because without them, communication breaks down when you don't know the tones, but the in depth research and care that went into this book (and subsequently, all of LP's books) shines through to provide the reader with a competant, user-friendly travel guide. Plus, LP is much more gay-friendly than the other guidebook series.

1 comments about The Powhatan Indians of Virginia: Their Traditional Culture (The Civilization of American Indian).

1. Helen C. Rountree has done very good research & writes in such a way that it's interesting.

1 comments about Natural Washington: A Nature-Lover's Guide.

1. Great to see an author looking at the subject of Natural this way. For others interested in working together on a natural website....please contact me at mrhagerott@aol.com And for Amazon, great job getting quality books like this on your shelves.

2 comments about Highroad Guide to the Virginia Mountains (Highroad Guides).

1. This book is not only great to use, it's terrific and fun to read. It is so complete and includes great maps that are easy to understand and use. We like having the bota nical names of plants as well as common names presented. The writers know their stuff. We highly recommend this book. It's well worth the price.



2. I like this guide as an introduction to the many scenic mountains of Virginia. The material is well organized and concise with very good directions to reach the described locations. A unique feature of this book is the considerable attention, as well as a considerable portion of the book, devoted to the flora and fauna of various regions. Depending upon your specific interests, this may be enlightening or of passing interest.
   
   The maps are not very detailed and the few photographs are of little value but these are not the focus of the book and can be attained elsewhere.
   
   Overall, a good resource if you plan to spend time in the mountains of Virginia, especially for day hikes.

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4 comments about New River Rock, 2nd.

1. The best rock climbing guide for the New River Gorge that covers both trad and sport. Has detailed descriptions of every route. Helpful graphics key that marks routes as trad, sport, or rainy day routes at a glance.



2. thompson's book has long winded verbal descriptions but the maps and layout make it extremely difficult to use. He also neglected to put in Summersville Lake, one of the best sport climbing areas in the east. Steve Cater's New River Gorge Rock Climbers' Guidebook is definitely the book to buy it is also less expensive and is easier to use and includes Summersville Lake.



3. By far the most comprehensive and user friendly climbing guide for the NRG. This guide includes history,route length,and first ascent information. In addition to,being a great guide the history makes a good read. Keep in mind this book does not cover Summserville Lake,but then again it doesn't claim to. For that pick up Cater's guide or Mcray's sport climbing guide.



4. This was one of the worst guide books I have seen. If you've never been to the New do not buy this book. The driving directions to each crag, if there, were horrible. I have never been been so confused going to a new area, while using this book. Good luck trying to find the climbs, it's all backwards. ...

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