1 comments about Insiders' Guide to Washington, D.C., 7th (Insiders' Guide Series).

1. THE INSIDERS' GUIDE TO WASHINGTON, D.C. is a great book, with an absolutely impeccable description of historical sites, music venues, theaters, shopping malls, neighborhoods, and freestanding stores of all kinds. It shows the DC area, despite its reputation for having the nation's highest percentage of couch potatoes, to be an area with enough ethnic diversity to provide healthy diet ideas for anyone with any kind of celebrity crush.
   
   There are, however, certain parts of the book that really need to be taken like the humor in comedy movies/shows featuring Alyson Hannigan, Jennifer Garner, Cameron Diaz, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Melissa Joan Hart, and Jennifer Love Hewitt. One of these is the section on the Virginia suburbs, which says that the schools south of the District are excellent, when, in fact, from all available evidence, the schools in Howard and Montgomery Counties in Maryland are much better in many areas. Another is the "Media" section, which fails to account for such changes as classic rock station WARW's recent change to Triple-A, with its new call letters being WTGB, and a local classical station's change to Adult Hits, the call letters WXGG, and the nickname "George 104" (after George Washington).
   
   Overall, however, whether you're planning to visit or move to the Washington, D.C. area, or are just proud to be American, this book will enrich your life.

No comments about Rand McNally Washington, D.C.: Street Atlas & Guide (Get Around (Rand McNally)).

5 comments about Foghorn Outdoors Pacific Northwest Hiking: The Complete Guide to More Than 1,000 of the Hikes in Washington and Oregon (Foghorn Outdoors Series).

1. I have attempted to do more than 100 hikes in this book -- 90% in Oregon. At least 30% of the trails do not exist or the driving directions were so poor you could not find the trailhead -- and some you simply could not get to in a standard vehicle. The descriptions were not accurate. It seems like the author wrote by using maps, not by visiting the trails. I ended up using a few of the pages to start a fire on one of the hikes. That was the best use I got out of the guide.

   Some information was reasonable.




2. Complete, accurate, comprehensive, and entertaining, to boot. Amazing inventory of trails for the money. Maps are only so-so, but functional. BTW: The review below is a joke: Most people would give up on an "unreliable" guidebook after about five hikes and skip the other 95.



3. The previous review states that another recent review of the book by Reader From Lake Oswego must be a joke. However, I must agree with RLO. I have attempted 20 plus hikes using this book as a guide and found that several of the reviewed trails don't actually exist or that the driving directions are so incorrect that they are impossible to find. It is obvious that a number of the trails were not even visited by the authors - if they had been, they surely would not have made it into publication. For example, after spending hours searching for Bobsled Trail in the Umatilla National Forest I finally found an old weather beaten sign in the brush and the faint remains of a trail that had clearly not been used in a decade. Also following the book's "directions", I spent hours searching for Ninetop Trail in the Umatilla Heppner Ranger District. Not only did the trail not exist, but my SUV got stuck forcing me to walk seven miles to the nearest maintained road to obtain help. This could have been very dangerous situation for someone with a lack of supplies or outdoor knowledge. As a result, I have taken the previous reviewers advice and given up on this guidebook. If you decided to utilize the book, the pages may be used to build a fire (as Reader in Lake Oswego suggests). However I recommend saving them to spell out HELP on the ground to alert the rescue plane that will be searching for you.



4. Never had any problems with directions myself. I have come across a few trails in this guide that are hard to get to -- sometimes impossible. Reason: There are *1100 trails* in it. This is both the strength and weakness of these all-in-one gides. Some trails are bound to be washed out or in ill repair at any given time. That's why all the Foghorn books suggest -- in fact, urge -- that you call the contact number before you go. Prudent advice. No guide can be updated every 15 minutes. Anyone who's not a complete wilderness neophyte knows that. For me, the most frustrating thing about the book is the map grid system, which doesn't make much sense. But overall, it's a good NW trail inventory with a good index. Great for quick reference -- and contact info to check on the trail. Anybody who needs a search party on a road should consider staying home.



5. Readers who got lost need to remember roads and trails change faster than books can be printed. This is a wonderful directory of trails in Washington and Oregon -- much better than newest title from Foghorn which seems to replace this book (and which ignores Oregon completely).

1 comments about The Supreme Court of the United States.

1. 150 color photos are excellent. This coffee table book was assisted by a grant from Eastman Kodak, which translates into very high-quality photos of the interior and exterior of the U. S. Supreme Court, complemented by 50 pages of text. I've purchased a number of these over the years for my clients, who are lawyers. They've enjoyed the books and kept them prominently displayed in their offices or homes.

No comments about Washington D.C. in Photographs.

No comments about George Washington's New Jersey.

No comments about Weekends for Two in the Mid-Atlantic States: 50 Romantic GetawaysNew York • Pennsylvania • New Jersey • Maryland • Washington, DC • Virginia (Weekends for Two).

5 comments about Fodor's Washington, D.C. with Kids, 3rd Edition (Special-Interest Titles).

1. While this is a great guide for parents, it is particularly helpful for those who may not have children at these ages. An Aunt, Grandmother, family friend who wants to spend time with children but doesn't know where to start and may not have a crew of friends with children needs this book. It can be the beginning of really great time with and for the children and adults together.



2. I found that this book was an interesting and direct source of information that helped me to find places to visit as well as how to get there. It is a wealth of information for where to take kids of all ages that would be of interest to them in Washington, D.C. I found it helpful also to know the phone numbers to be able to call about questions that I might have before visiting the places. I would highly recommend this book to anyone such as teachers or parents who are interested in taking kids to the Washington,D.C. area.



3. This guide may be good at highlighting attractions, but it's woefully impractical for real-life touring.
   
   We used--or, I should say, tried to use--this guide on a recent trip to Washington, D.C., and we wound up very frustrated with it. We were attempting to do as much as we could by Metro and taking the car only when it was practical and necessary. We followed the guide for Metro stops and wound up walking, sometimes miles, with two young kids (aged 6 and 3).
   
   For instance, we took the Metro to the zoo, got off at the stop recommended in the book and had an uphill walk for more than a mile. Someone told us later that there would have been ample parking, had we driven. I wish the guide had mentioned it. Another time, we followed the instructions on which Metro stop to use for the Lincoln Memorial. We popped out of the station onto a street filled with mainly government office buildings and no signs directing us to the memorial, which, again, was a long hike away. (A kind man saw our "lost" looks, asked if we were looking for the memorial and pointed the way there.) We found out from locals that it would have been better to have taken Metro stops along the Mall--possibly the same distance but with more diversions, like a carousel and grass to run around on, for youngsters.
   
   This is not a trivial complaint when you're dealing with kids. And, given that this book is specifically about touring D.C. with kids, I would have expected the authors to do better.
   
   By the time we were leaving, it had become a joke to consult the book's maps and station recommendations. We came to the conclusion that whatever it recommended, we should do something else.



4. I ordered this book to help plan a trip to Dc for my family. I was excellent. This book was also passed to our high school principal who used this book for a personnel trip to DC. This was his favorite book to use for learning about DC.
   
   I found this book VERY valuable and will be used for future trips to the area.



5. Authors' tone indicates they are clearly amazed by Washington DC, but this doesn't translate into any new or interesting information about the city for visitors. Lots of info out of date.

No comments about Mount Baker Region Map (Travel Reference Map).

2 comments about 100 Hikes in Washington's South Cascades and Olympics: Chinook Pass, White Pass, Goat Rocks, Mount St. Helens, Mount Adams (100 Hikes In...).

1. It is a little rough around the edges. Many of the directions in the book are unclear, and make finding the trail difficult. Also the series needs to improve on emphasing the difficulty of some hikes. I have met many people on the trail that thought the 6 mile hike at 3800 ft increase in elevation was not going to be too bad. The author should note on these hike the experience the hiker should have.

   Good book to get ideas, but you will need supplemental maps.




2. No one, and I mean no one, knows the trails of the Pacific Northwest like Ira Spring and Harvey Manning. Whether you are looking for advice on a brutal five day hike-a-thon over the toughest terain, or a family-friendly afternoon hike to introduce your outdoors passion to family or friends, they have been there and done that, with and without the kids or the crampons. The directions are always clear, concise, and accurate. The photos belong in a glossy coffee table book, not a guide book. Maybe there are individual books that are better at an individual trail, but for a sure thing every time, go with Spring and Manning!