2 comments about Fodor's Citypack Washington D.C.'s 25 Best, 5th Edition (25 Best).

1. I really don't like this citypack, it has a nice map, and nice pictures, but the "Itinaries" are only two, and of two hours each one, so I dont think for "Itinaries" it can be usefull, it has a really good size, and the Top 25 is excelent



2. City Packs are simply the best. Fodor makes these little CityPack guides for dozens of cities and I've used several with great satisfaction.
   
   Each guide only includes the top 25 sites. They don't give a lot of detail but they give you the essentials. They are designed not for in depth research but as a true pocket guide that you can take with you. Their choice of locations is always right on the money. If you're going to be in DC for less than a week, you can't go wrong by sticking with the sites in the guide. It's very well organized with a map included. It has its own plastic cover. Make use of that by picking up a metro map the first time you take the metro and insert in so you can see the map on the back cover.
   
   I've used these in Paris, Rome, London, DC and Tokyo. They work. Especially if you use "The Insiders Guide" or DK's "Eyewitness Guide" for planning and then take the CityPack in your back pocket. You can't go wrong.

1 comments about Hiking the Ancient Forests of British Columbia & Washington.

1. This book has great pictures and maps of most of the trails it discusses, and for each trail, there is a description about the area it is in, how to get to it, and information about the hike along the way. Plus it mentions the status of the area, whether it is protected or not. All in all it's a great book for information about hiking in old growth and it should be a must have for anyone planning a trip to this area.

No comments about Civil War to Civil Rights: Washington D.C.'s Downtown Heritage Trail.

No comments about Away for the Weekend: Mid-Atlantic, 6th Edition: Revised and Updated Edition (Away for the Weekend(R)).

No comments about 2006 Washington, DC/Baltimore Restaurants (Zagatsurvey).

1 comments about Recommended Country Inns: West Coast: California, Washington, Oregon.

1. I purchased this book to help me find a place to honeymoon that was cozy, not over-run by tourists. I wanted a honeymoon site that offered an authentic experience, not one marketed or comercialized. I knew there had to be out of the way places that would allow genuine exploration and discovery in which the traveler was not just another number being shuttled around to the same places to spend money with everyone else. I ended up finding a beautiful bed and breakfast on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State. Built in the late 1800's this inn featured a small detached bungalow on the bluffs overlooking the harbor. There is no way I would have found this place without the guide.

   I am realizing the benefit of "place." The world is full of ugly concrete box hotels that all look and feel the same. Why not chance it a little and explore a small county inn off a small country road surrounded by woods and coastline? Yes, there may be a little discomfort in the lack of anonimity, but why settle for the generic?

   For those who live on the west coast, or want to visit, this guide has hundreds of listings of places to stay. The author has personally visited each of them (tough job), and offers insightful recommendations. The guide thoroughly covers a broad range of geography and has something from everyone from 19th century hotels to small cabins in California's Gold Rush Country. Most of these inns are owned by families who live on the site, so you know you are supporting local economies and not some corporate interest 1,000 miles away.

   Read this and then get out there and explore.

5 comments about The Measure of a Mountain: Beauty and Terror on Mount Rainier.

1. If you are interested in the outdoors, American history, geology, glaciology, entomology or ecology, then this book is worth your time. Barcott has assembled a witty, introspective book on all things Rainier.

   I had never heard of Barcott until a friend sent me this book in preparation for a trip to Rainier. By the time I finished the book, I was equally more drawn to and fearful of the mountain than before. And Barcott is in good company. Jon Krakauer, who had the same effect on Everest in the minds of many several years ago with Into Thin Air, has some impressive things to say about Barcott's work on the back cover.

   At one point, while discussing the natural sciences as Rainier relates to them, Barcott mentions that "science isn't truth, it's merely our best stab at it." In describing this book, I'd characterize it not as an authoritative work on Rainier, but Barcott's personal best stab at it. This is a fun, non-scholarly book that offers insight into virtually every aspect of Rainier, including the history of how it got its name, the bugs that inhabit the mountain, the annual dance of glacial shift, the wild flowers that keep the mountains delicate ecology in balance and the people who are drawn to the mountain, each for their own reasons.

   Rainier is an intriguing mountain, and Measure of a Mountain is equally intriguing. Barcott's no nonsense, balanced style makes you feel like you are talking to a friend about their own obsession with Rainier, and his descriptions of hikes around the perimeter of the mountain make you feel like you are suffering the bug bites and soaking in the sublime surroundings right there with him. Most of all, Measure of a Mountain is a vivid portrait of one man's attempt to find balance and to understand himself in light of his surroundings and Barcott's style set against the backdrop of Rainier delivers an account free of the indulgence and self-obsession that so typically taints writers.

   This is a good book, and worth a few hours of your time.




2. I bought this book a couple of years ago and have reread it twice already. The first time I read it I found myself hunting down my husband over and over saying "you've got to listen to this"... Parts of the book are laugh-out-loud funny. But in addition to the humor, the book is a well-written and imformative glimpse into all facets of Mt. Rainier. I've been in love with this mountain since I was a child, and I highly recommend this interesting book by a talented author.



3. I think if I were stranded on a deserted island, I would want a copy of this book as well as all those Dostoevsky's I've always promised myself I would read one day. Being an avid climber, this is probably my favorite book of all times, and the book I am always sure to purchase as a gift for others to enjoy. This is NOT a climbing guide or a book just for the climbing community (although we love it). This is a book for anyone who loves the Pacific Northwest, mountains, mountain weather, great stories of adventure and tragedy, geology, hight altitude bugs, plants, animals, and good humor. Each chapter unfolds an entire diverse topic. You'll find yourself going back and reading your favorite chapters.



4. After slogging through this overwritten and overwrought account of the author's obsession with Mr. Rainier, I lost what little interest I had in ever visiting the place. The mountain is painted as dreary and gray, with grimy little spots of human encroachment. The only moderately interesting part of the book are the chapters on the Himalayas and high altitude climbing, which, if Barcott stayed on point, would not even be in the book. No wonder his girlfriend got fed up with him; he is not just a bore, he is a bore with an ill-defined and pointless obsession.



5. The one star is for having the nerve to call Michael Crichton's State of Fear "a horrible anti-science potboiler, which was easily the worst book I read all year".

No comments about Hidden Seattle (Hidden Travel).

No comments about Mobil Travel Guide Mid Atlantic, 2005: Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington DC, and West Virginia (Mobil Travel Guides (Includes All 16 Regional Guides)).

No comments about Insiders' Guide to Portland, Oregon, 3rd: Including the Metro Area and Vancouver, Washington.