No comments about Walking Tours of Old Washington and Alexandria.

No comments about The Parks of Washington (A 10x13 Book©) (Sierra Press).

2 comments about Michelin The Green Guide Washington, DC (Michelin Green Guides).

1. Anything with the name Michelin tells me that it is well thought out and offers practical advice and information. This book is no exception to that rule. The Washington DC Green Guide is up-to-date for life in post-9-11 Washington. Helpful contact information, hours of operation and maps are included among neighborhood histories and in-depth museum information that will make you think you've already visited the places! My favorite feature of the book is the address and contact information. The embassies, museums, theatres, major shopping locales and other businesses are listed in an organized manner making it most helpful to make reservations or equipe you to handle any other inquiry you might have. Though its descriptions are ample and helpful as a native, I must admit, I noticed the absence of some insider tidbits with which I have become familiar in my decades living in the Capital City. There are a few historical establishments & restaurants (Old Ebbitts, for instance) which are not included. Overall though, I must give this book a high ranking because it is hard to wrap up our grand city in one book without having to be choosy about what is to be included and what should be left out. Though I live in DC and have all my life, I enjoy this book because it allows me to become aware of some features of our grand town which I may have previously overlooked. It is a great resource for visiting tourists as well and great for Washingtonians to keep on hand when they forsee out-of-town guests. The only thing that would make this book more useful were if it came with a Metro card!



2. On a recent trip to Washington, DC, I brought along a copy of "Michelin The Green Guide Washington, DC." It was the first time I had used a guidebook in this wonderful city, which I have visited often over the years, spending much time in its extraordinary museums and the Smithsonian Institute. This updated, post 9/11, Micheline book really made a difference - opening up a new world, and saving me lots of time and money also.
   
   The White House, the Capitol, the monuments and the federal memorials - from the glorious Lincoln Memorial, (which I always visit when in town), to the always moving Vietnam War and the impressive Korean War Memorials, the brilliant Phillips Collection and other museums, the Washington National Cathedral, etc., all come to life with historical insight, color photographs and Washington, DC maps, detailed and marked with fascinating walking tours. The Michelin Green Guide to Washington, DC is extremely practical and covers all aspects of a trip to this historic city, including the most interesting neighborhoods to wander through, and a variety of some of the best restaurants the town has to offer. Excursions from DC highlight the best of Alexandria and the Mount Vernon area in nearby Virginia.
   
   Highly recommended!
   JANA

No comments about Washington, D.C. Pocket Guide (Pocket Guides).

No comments about Columbia's River: The Voyages of Robert Gray, 1787-1793.

No comments about Rand McNally Easy To Fold! Seattle, Washington (Rand McNally Easy to Fold!).

No comments about Rand McNally Streets of Kent & Federal Way, Auburn/Renton, Washington (Rand Mcnally Streets of).

2 comments about Washington Ice: A Climbing Guide.

1. This is clearly the definitive guide to steep winter climbing in Washington State. Martin and Krawarik have done a spectacular job researching and reporting on these routes.
   
   This is the first book of it's kind for the area. I absolutely cannot wait for it to get cold!



2. This might be the best ice climbing guidebook I've ever seen! Let it freeze! Let it freeze! Let it freeze!

1 comments about A Year in Paradise: A Personal Experience of Living on Mount Rainier in the Early 1900's.

1. I wish I could have lived even a day of the life Floyd Schmoe describes in this colorful and humble account of life on Mt. Rainier. As a relatively new resident to Western Washington, I bought this book as an attempt to acquaint myself with one of the regions best-known and best-loved landmarks. I was not disappointed. In fact, I was intrigued.
   
   In this four-seasons look at the life of a couple who lived year-round on an active volcano during the early 1900's (ie: 1920 and beyond), I was struck by how honestly every detail was described. This certainly is not a scientific book, nor is it an all-inclusive documentation of Mt. Rainer National Park, but it is a realistic one, one you might imagine your Grandfather sitting down to tell you over several weeks at the dinner table.
   
   Schmoe uses all of his resources to describe life on the mountain; he tells it through his own eyes, his wife's eyes, and the eyes of the visitors who crowded into the Inn every summer. He retells suspenseful stories of lost climbers and park staff, close encounters with bears and cougars, firsthand accounts of hiking the mountain, and large-scale bouts of inclement weather.
   
   But it's not all adventure and action. In fact, many of the most memorable parts of A Year in Paradise are those when Schmoe writes of being overcome by the beauty of wildflowers breaking through snow in spring or the determination of Rainier's smaller wildlife to survive over winter. He also writes about the sometimes-laughable domestic situations that can arise when humans try to play house on a real-life mountain.
   
   When all is said and done, you'll feel not only like you've read a book about the great outdoors, but about the inhabitants (humans, animals, and plants alike) that make it worthy of the name Paradise. Oh yes- and some added bonuses are the home photos and nature sketches throughout.

5 comments about Lonely Planet Pacific Northwest (Lonely Planet Washington, Oregon & the Pacific Northwest).

1. This is a really good book for exploring the Pacific Northwest and we had a fantastic trip using it. The only place it left out that we think it should include is the heavenly ZEN GARDEN Bed and Breakfast on the Oregon coast in Manzanita.

   The rooms are beautiful, it is almost on the quiet, dreamy, seven mile beach, nearly in the forest of the Nehalem Bay State Park, and the breakfast is Huge and DELICIOUS.




2. While this book provides fairly accurate guidance regarding natural features and campgrounds, don't use it a reliable guide to travel necessities that are market driven like hotels, restaurants, admission costs, etc. Each time we used the book to choose a hotel, we were surprised and sadly disappointed in either the quality, the cost, or both. The same for recommended restaurants. Admission costs were generally 20% higher than listed. No big deal, but again, for a current publication it fell short in accuracy. It's as if an earlier printing was simply published as current without checking on the accuracy of the contents.
   
   Use it as a guide, but not as a reference. I'm sure there are other sources of more accurate information for travelers.



3. I literally just got back from my trip which spanned from Berekely, CA- Vancouver, BC and we used this book throughout the whole trip. The hotel and restaurant recommendations are excellent and for every price range. We did a lot of last minute changes of plans and the book was able to help us with those hotel reservations. It also contains great maps and excellent background history of the area. If you are traveling through the Pacific Northwest I highly recommend this book.



4. Full of ideas and covers all the good stuff.
   
   This is not a city resturant guide, however. Someone else gave this book 3 stars because it only told them about the highlights of what makes the Pacific Northwest special, and didn't name the 5-star resturants. I am a 4th-generation Seattle-ite and fancy resturants are not my scene. Go anywhere, eat wild salmon and a latte, then go do some more walks or boat trips or something like that!



5. I have lots of guidebooks - and lots of Lonely Planets, for that matter. But despite the fact that they say they are for "independent travellers", I keep finding ridiculous reviews on restaurants and hotels, to the point where I've stopped using them.
   
   The History, Snapshot, and similar sections are great, but if you have a brain of your own - use it. Forget their restaurant and hotel recommendations, as I'm not even sure they visit the places. Sometimes they have history or comments on places that is worthwhile to read, though. All tourbooks may have these drawbacks, to be fair.
   
   Finally, I think I'm going to stop buying Lonely Planet's, though. First, they always act like driving is so scary everywhere, when it's actually quite easy to anyone with a brain. They also forget to give worthwhile tips on getting a car, etc. I imagine that this is their way of "saving the Earth". To a person who does care about the Earth, but doesn't believe that being a dirty hippie is going to save anything, this - and all their other BS trying to coerce their opinions onto you as fact - gets really freakin' old. Yes, yes, I know, LP is founded by some hippie freak from AUS or something - whooptie doo. That doesn't mean I have to pay some jerk who's going to push his politics on me, whether I agree with them or not.