Travel Book Reviews

Vencie in Contextt: The Independent Traveler's Guide to venice (Europe in Context series)
by Robert Wayne

Venice In Context is the first in the Europe In Context series. This guide is an entirely new concept in travel guidebooks providing travelers with independence from the typical guide book or group tour. Venice In Context uses Audio CD technology to provide the history- and art-loving traveler with twelve fascinating narrated tours of Venice to select from, together with easy-to-follow maps, backed up with detailed written information about what to see and how to get around Venice on their own.

Royal London in Context: The Independent Traveler's Guide to Royal London (Europe in Context series)
by Robert S. Wayne

Focusing on London's royal past, this guide will interest those intrigued by the pomp and pageantry of British royalty. Two audio CDs provide 12 different audio tours, allowing independent travelers the freedom to go at their own pace as they explore the areas around the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey, Whitehall, Horse Guards Parade, Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly, St. James's Palace, and Buckingham Palace. Along the way travelers will hear fascinating stories and amusing anecdotes about the royal family through the centuries and their role in British history. More than 100 full-color photographs enhance the easy-to-follow maps of the areas explored on each tour. Practical instructions are provided on how to use London's convenient public transportation to tour the city and visit the outlying royal palaces.

All Over the Map Again: Another Extraordinary Atlas of the United States
by David Jouris
From catographer David Jouris comes an interesiting view of the cities you quite possibly have never heard of. The thirty-four thematic maps entertian you for hours with trivia about the origins of names in the United States, as well as numerous other details that just might come in handy someday.

The Appalachian Trail Reader
Edited by David Emblidge
In the eloquent and raw voices of writers past and present (Melville, Dickey and not-so-well known), the wild beauty of the Appalachias rings through in this collection of clear voices of the peace and tranquillity these mountain ranges bring to the outdoorsman, the hiker, the gentle observer. A lovely book for any nature lover.

At Home in France: Tales of An American and Her Home Abroad
by Ann Barry
A former editor for The New Yorker and The New York Times, Ann Barry fell in love with the fanciful village of Carennac in the southwestern area of France, near the Dorgodne River. Here she claimed her stone house in a village of red tile roofs, had adventures in this eleventh century town, crossing bridges and driving winding roads to develop all the quintessential ingredients for a memoir of a single American woman who takes her life in her own hands, carves out a niche and has the sense and humor to write about it.

The Best of San Francisco: A Witty and Somewhat Opinionated Insider's Guide to Everybody's Favorite City
by Don & Betty Martin
This is a delightfully offbeat insiders guide to San Francisco, one of the worlds most popular cities for tourists and natives alike. Offering lists and descriptions of the Ten Best places to see and a wealth of things to do around the city, The Best of San Francisco is unique in format and concept. There are twenty-six snazzy chapters that sum up everything that both the curious tourist and the seasoned native would love to know including: where to eat the best meal; the best take-out; the best photo-ops; and the best hotels, from grand to quaint. There is also a selection on architectural design, as well as lists of nightclubs, museums for all tastes, shopping venues -- you get the picture. The Martins have updated and expanded each entry in this, the fourth edition, to include current phone numbers and addresses, brief overviews, hours of operation, etc. It is the Martins irreverent sense of humor, personal opinions, and high sense of fun that most distinguishes this tome from other Bay Area guides. It is truly an intimate, and enthusiastic traveling companion.

Birnbaum's Country Inns and Backroads, North America
by Alexandra Mayes Birnbaum (Editor), Lois Spritzer (Editor), lau Brengelman
This 428-page guide discusses the very best inns across Northern America. It details the finest accommodations at every price, memorable historic homes, the best beachside cottages, the most heavenly highways, the greatest walking trails, top country dining destinations and where to see the most spectacular Fall foliage. The book highlights, furnishings, amenities and menus at each of the locations it visits, even down to the bedding and color schemes of each bedroom. For travelers keen on local trips, this book will be worth having around.

Catch: A Discovery of America
by Nick Hartshorn
In this quirky book, author Hartshorn travels along seven major highways throughout the country with a bunch of tapes for his recorder and three baseball gloves, including a lefty, and one goal in mind: to talk to anyone willing to play a game of catch with him. And, find people he does, who regale, reflect and remark on every foible and fancy of humankind. This is both a profound and an affectionate glimpse into the uniquely American summer twilight passion, a slow, sweet game of catch.

Chasing the Dragon, Into the Heart of the Golden Triangle
by Christopher R. Cox
Boston Herald journalist Cox takes us through Burma and Thailand with the reporter's skepticism and a relatively inexperienced traveler's enthusiasm. The combination required Cox to rely on friends, new and old, and "the kindness of strangers" to file this often hilarious, sometimes poignant , report on the growing pains of this area with its fluctuating economies, its dirty politics, its beautiful people and awesome landscape. Reads like a novel but it's the real story through and through.

Cheap Eats in Paris /seventh edition
by Sandra A. Gustafson
The city of lights is host to some 20,00 cafes, bistros, brasseries, tea rooms, winebars and restaurants catering to every taste and budget. Cheap Eats assesses more than two hundred dining options, offering an eclectic collection of restaurants.

Cheap Sleeps in Paris/seventh edition
by Sandra A. Gustafson
From quaint antique inns to three star Left Bank hotels, Cheap Sleeps offers a variety of lodging for short and long terns visitors, students, and families alike. Engaging and informative descriptions of accommodations accompany detailed maps, information on single and double occupancy room rates, nearby local attractions, and the closest Metro stop.

A Culinary Voyage Through Germany
by Hannelore Kohl
with comments by Chancellor Helmut Kohl
This cookbook thoroughly covers traditional German cooking with the inclusion of regional recipes such as spit-roasted pork loin and oxtail stew. Not all recipes will meet American standards for adequate quantities and too many include fats that might be objectionable, but the photographs and dish descriptions help make this a worthwhile cookbook.

Desert Places: A Woman's Odyssey with the Wanderers of the Indian Desert
by Robyn Davidson
Davidson is an amazing woman, a seasoned traveler who lets nothing stop her from going where she wants to go. She traveled with the Rabari nomads in Rajasthan for months to bring back this searing portrait of a proud people whose culture is about to die. In a ruthlessly honest, shrewdly observed tale, Davidson makes the men, women and children she lives and travels with so real, they seem a part of our lives long after we have finished this incredible book.

Dinner with Persephone
by Patricia Storace
With both elegance and humor, Storace has written a travel narrative that reads more like a novel, with its descriptions that reveal a photographer's eye and a poet's turn of phrase. She unfolds contemporary Greek culture like a silk kerchief ready to caress your neck. The Alabama native has created a stunning memoir of a perceptive visitor to Greece who embraces the people and they love her back. A wonderful read.

Eat Smart in Indonesia
by Joan and David Peterson
Authors Joan and David Peterson have written a comprehensive and practical source book so that others can add immeasurably to their enjoyment of a foreign country and its cuisine. Eat Smart In Indonesia is the third in a series of culinary adventures around the world. The authors have traveled throughout Indonesia, researching cuisine and sampling the extraordinary foods in the markets, in restaurants, and in Indonesian homes. There is a quick, easy-to-use menu guide, a helpful list of foods and flavors, tips on how to shop the fascinating food markets, useful phrases in Indonesian when ordering or buying food, a collection of recipes to try at home and more. If you are traveling or moving to Indonesia, take this book with you!

Everywoman's Travel Journal
by Ten Speed Press/Celestial Arts
Includes health and safety tips, conversion charts for measurements and clothing sizes, quotes from female travelers throughout history, and 160 journal pages. Encased in a clear plastic jacket.

The Food Lover's Guide to Paris
by Patricia Wells
A guidebook to Paris eating and shopping. Where do you find the best biareoa and the richest wines? Patricia Wells explores Paris to bring together the best places to eat and shop as well as twenty new recipes from Paris.

The Guide to Florida's Best Restaurants
by Joyce LaFray
This book is a completely updated and expanded edition of Joyce LaFray's best-selling restaurant guide. She has reviewed 600 of the state's best restaurants in one handy travel-sized guide. In this guide,there's no wading through long critiques as LaFray provides succinct descriptions, tipping the reader off to each restaurant's type of cuisine, specialty, and atmosphere. If you are traveling to Florida and you care about your taste buds as much as your tan, bring along this resourceful guide.

Gutsy Women: Travel Tips and Wisdom for the Road
by Marybeth Bond
If you loved Bond's now-classic book, A Woman's World, you'll never leave home without this small treasure. It is packed with great useable information on resources of wild places to go, sidetrips to take and things to do, and encouraging quotes from "fellow" women travelers who say, go for it. Deciding whether to travel solo? Get this book and you'll be at the airport tomorrow.

Hoppin' John's Charleston, Beaufort & Savannah
by John Martin Taylor
Life in the lowcountry is every bit the fantasy that brings tourists every year to experience wonderful house tours and traditional Southern dinners. In this book, noted food expert John Martin Taylor offers an intimate look at fifteen of the loveliest homes in the Carolina-Georgia lowcountry, and incorporates seventy-five recipes in the form of fifteen menus from this region -- be it an afternoon casual lunch, or a formal Sunday dinner. These are real meals from real houses. The book includes over 150 beautiful color photographs of the region.

I'll Taste Manhattan
by The Junior League of New York City
Illustrated with photos of food and landmark buildings, it is a culinary walk through the architectural marvels of the city. Containing more than 180 recipes, this cookbook is a culinary celebration of the nation's largest city.

The Inn At Little Washington: A Consuming Passion
by Patrick O'Connell
Tucked gently into the foothills of Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains is a tiny village called Washington. And there is one of the most beloved inns in the world, The Inn at Little Washington, renowned for its style, its indulgent comfort and mostly for its excellent food. O'Connell shares the secrets of his philosophy, his techniques and his incredible recipes with all cooks who want to bring the magic of the Inn into their homes. This cookbook, The Inn At Little Washington, contains hundreds of recipes but the great recipes are simply one component of his peerless book. More than 200 gorgeous color photographs adorn this cookbook, bringing life to the foods he describes by picturing not only the completed dishes but the natural ingredients themselves.

The Invisibles: A Tale of the Eunuchs of India
by Zia Jaffrey
Zia Jaffrey reveals for the first time the lives and rituals of the mysterious subculture of the Hijra. Zias journey through India to find out just who the Hijras are, why the subject is taboo and why their history was never recorded. Her incisive exploration of the Hijra community brings to light new information, challenges the traditional scholarship, and raises many startling, timely and controversial issues.

Ireland: An Encyclopedia for the Bewildered
by K.S Daly
A wildly funny little book about everything you would ever want (and never think) to ask about things Irish -- from a folk cure for mumps (rub the afflicted against the back of a pig) to the origins of the word "dude."

Jet Smart
by Diana Fairchild
Everything you need to know about how to avoid jet lag and survive the flight. Provides insider advice from a former international flight attendant with 21 years experience. Learn how to sleep soundly in an economy seat, clear blocked ears, regulate sunlight to normalize metobilsm, choose the best foods to eat en route, and even how to eliminate the fear of flying.

Letters from Egypt: A Journey on the Nile, 1849-1850
by Florence Nightingale
Yes, Florence, the nurse. One of the few women to make such a journey, haled as a trip to the land of the Arabian Nights, Nightingale wrote exquisite letters to family and friends about her year-long trip accompanied by dear friends. Her insight into the people, places and events she encountered reveal a keen eye, and the accompanying reproductions of paintings, drawings and art of the period bring alive her correspondence, selected and introduced here by Anthony Sattin. First printed privately just for her family, this book was first issued to the public nine years ago, and remains a breathtakingly vivid glimpse of a style of travel that no longer exists.

Mendocino
by Heidi Haughy Cusick
There is a rugged romance to Mendocino County, long cherished for its craggy coastline and for the bucolic town of Mendocino. Recently, the county has also earned a reputation for its outstanding Chardonnays, Cabernets, and methode champenoise sparkling wines. Microbreweries have sprung up around the area, starting with the first brewpub to open in California since Prohibition. And the local farms, orchards and fisheries continue to provide prime meats, succulent produce, and fresh Pacific seafood. Author Heidi Haughy Cusick and photographer Richard Gillette guide you to the fascinating places and charming people responsible for those sweet and savory delights. Gillette's spectacular full-color photographs capture all of the beauty and charm of the region, and Cusick's lively descriptions and practical information provide all the details you'll need to plan a visit.

Mississippi Currents: Journeys Through Time and A Valley
by Andrew H. Malcolm and Roger Straus III
The black and white photographs by Straus and the crisp, unsentimental prose of Malcolm make this book an ideal choice for the coffee table that will be picked up and read and re-read for many months to come. In his clear-eyed way, with not a small dose of poetic turns, Malcolm has created not a travelogue but an historical narrative that reveals the mighty Mississippi, warts and wonders. The Straus photos have a serenity that words can not do justice by; one has to see them to feel them and listen to what they say about the people of the river and the mystery of this uniquely American waterway.

No Mercy: A Journey to the Heart of the Congo
by Redmond O'Hanlon
(Fictitious character) Redmond O'Hanlon is the Indiana Jones of travel writing, and probably one of the finest and most daring writers of our time. As the last of the great Victorian explorers, O'Hanlon is himself an endangered species who believes that there is nothing too fearsome, venomous or deadly to deter him. He has traveled the world over, most recently to the heart of the Congo. In this book, O'Hanlon enters the virtually impenetrable swamps of the African Congo with Larry Shaffer, and American scientist and friend, to investigate reports of a dinosaur living in Lake Tele. No Mercy is a classic tale of travel and natural history. O'Hanlon and Sheffer face supernatural threats, snakes, lethal insects, all-powerful magicians you name it. The narrative about this little-explored region and the men trying to understand it is both insightful and humorous. No Mercy is a quest for the meaning of magic and the purpose of religion, a celebration of the comforts and mysteries of science, and a deeply compassionate telling of a vanishing world.

Over the Hills: A Midlife Escape Across America by Bicycle
by David Lamb
Lamb, a Pulitzer Prize nominee eight times, primarily for his work as a Los Angeles Times correspondent, takes to the road on bicycle, aware but not distracted by the fact he's way past the age for competitive bicycling. What he brought back, besides tired thighs, is a succinct observation of social history of America told with affection and humor. His anecdotal report reaffirms the simple, honest lives led by so many Americans.

The Packing Book
by Judith Gilford
Full of helpful hints, diagrams, and wardrobe and gear planning checklist, The Packing Book is well on its way of becoming a travel classic. It includes suggestions for business/leisure trips and helpful tips on how to prepare for adventure vacations and varying climates. Also included is information about packing tips for teenagers and children and more extensive packing for longer trips.

Passport to New York: The 400 Restaurants That Matter Most
by Peter & Amy Meltzer & John F. Mariani
Passport is a true guidebook, not a survey. It provides specific menu recommendations and clear interior descriptions so that the reader can choose the right restaurant every time. Laid out by neighborhood, (with an alphabetical table of contents, and an ethnic food directory) this book also contains six locator maps to further aid the selection process. This 11th edition focuses on Manhattan's most characteristic restaurants in terms of quality, creativity, atmosphere, type of cuisine, neighborhood and value -- at all price points. It includes the latest arrivals on the New York scene, along with in-depth previews of the year's most anticipated openings. A must have before taking a bite out of The Big Apple.

Sahara Unveiled: A Journey Across the Desert
by William Langewiesche
Langewiesche, a methodical and serious writer, traveled through the Sahara from the southernmost edge of Mediterranean to the African Savannah and west to the Atlantic and evokes the cold, the heat, the shimmering dunes of this awesome, mammoth desert. This is a startling report, dispelling many myths via carefully blending history and anthropology with anecdotal references and true, consistent reportage. A fascinating, riveting book.

The Size of the World: A Global Odyssey Around the World Without Leaving the Ground
by Jeff Greenwald
This is a work of literature infused with humor, style and keen analysis of places and people observed with a knowing eye. This modern epic is also an apt demonstration of modern travel---with laptop--as Greenwald did, shooting back his travel reports via the internet (www.jeffgreenwald.com). In our shrinking world, it's refreshing to be reminded that self discovery can still be made via the time-honored tradition of world adventure. 28 color photos, too.

Sonoma Valley: The Secret Wine Country
by Kathleen and Gerald Hill
Few guidebooks truly contain the insider information they promise on the cover. This one does. Kathleen and Gerald Hill have lived in California's Sonoma Valley since the 1970's. They have packed this book with the sort of details picked up only by those who have lived there over time: the best times to visit certain restaurants, for example, and the places nearest certain wineries to find a perfect picnic spot. Anyone expecting to tour Sonoma Valley would do well to keep this book handy for planning a well organized and scenic trip.

The Grapes Grow Sweet
by Lynne Tuft
This colorful book chronicles the real-life story of Julian Rossi, a four-year old whose family owns a Napa Valley winery. It tells -- through a child's eyes -- about the experience of helping during the harvest activities.

Totally Camping
by Helene Siegel
You don't even have to lift your backpack to enjoy this one. In fact, given the equipment you'll be carrying (outlined in the introduction), it's better if you don't. This book is for the car-campers among us, and for folks who think that sleeping under the stars deserves food as good as anything they'd eat at home. So forget the dehydrated food in aluminum packets. Don't even think about dried fruit or beef jerky--this is real food.

To The Heart of Spain
by Ann and Larry Walker
Part travel journal, part cookbook, part wine guide, To the Heart of Spain takes readers on a delightful, often irreverent journey through the regions of contemporary Spain. From the dusty backroads of Extremadura, to the sophisticated restaurants of Madrid, to the wine cathedrals of Jerez, to the fashionable champagne bars of Barcelona, Ann and Larry Walker pursue the heart of Europe's most mysterious land through its cuisine and the enchanting characters who bring it to the table.

Travel Journal
by Ten Speed Press/Celestial Arts
Contains over 100 lined pages for personal entries, with a date and place heading on each page. Quotes from famous travelers, conversion charts, maps, U.S. and Canadian embassies, and more. Encased in a clear plastic jacket.

The Ukimwi Road: From Kenya to Zimbabwe
by Dervla Murphy
The Ukimwi Road, named for the Swahili word for Ebola, a virus of epidemic proportions added to the terror of AIDS in this area, is the centerpiece of this heart-rending tale. Her riveting account of her 3,000 mile trip through the Sub-Saharan Africa, by bicycle, is astonishing, putting faces and names to the news stories we view each night. Murphy gives us her the lyrical writing of Ireland (her homeland,) a cynic's eye to world views, and a poet's ear to the voices of the victims of the scourge of the decade, AIDS and Ebola.

The Ultimate Adventure Sourcebook: The Complete Resource for Adventure Sports and Travel
by Paul McMenamin
The title does tell it all; this is not for someone who wants to read Jane Austen while sunning at the beach, this is for someone who wants to windsurf, hanglide, drive the snowmobile, trek, climb, dig, and more. Great photos accent each sport, accommodations are rated, and tours, videos, books and other necessary information are all listed here for you. Yes, there are calmer adventures like fishing, but the emphasis is on adventure sports, those with speed and movement.

Under the Tuscan Sun: At Home in Italy
by Frances Mayes
Down the road apiece from Barry's France, poet/cook/travel writer Mayes bought and restored an abandoned villa in the Tuscan countryside, in Cortina to be exact, and has chronicled her story in this sensuous memoir. While Barry's book is infused with humor and wit, Mayes' tribute to her second home reflects her gift as a poet to capture the lure and allure of this wonderful Italian area. For each season, she also includes some delicious recipes which you can try at home if you can't make it to Tuscany this year.

Vacations That Can Change Your Life
by Ellen Lederman
If you're looking for something really different, this is the book for you. Here you'll find adventures, retreats and workshops for the mind, body and spirit from holistic to social activist programs, healing, self improvement and learning vacations. The indexes are great, and list places state by state and international venues as well.

What Sucks about South Florida
by Scott Marcus
Where to stay? What to eat? Maybe other establishment guides recommend certain places, but only this book (written by a discerning native) knows which of them suck. Which hotels are hot? Where are the good clubs? Get the buzz on Shula's Steak House or the funkiest Cuban restaurant in town. Tired of freezing rain? Move to South Florida. But watch out -- don't move to a neighborhood that sucks! Where do the cool people live? Where should you work? You'll need to get around on those crazy South Florida freeways, too. Find out everything you need to know to get settled in hurricane land. From the hard hard-core hideaways to the world's best beaches, you'll be prepared!

A Wine and Food Guide to the Loire
by Jaqueline Friedrich
Interested in visiting the Loire? You should not visit the beautiful French countryside without this book, "A Wine and Food Guide to the Loire." Jaqueline Friedrich, an American freelance writer has lived in Touraine, France since 1989 and it shows. Her familiarity with the people, the places, the food and the wines is demonstrated on every page. The Loire is France's longest river, starting in the remote Auvergne and rolling through such wine regions as Sancerre, Vouvray, Chinon, Anjou, and Muscadet, on its way to the Atlantic. The Loire wine regions enjoy a widespread reputation for stellar wine quality. For someone trying to get a grasp on the Loire, this is an invaluable book.

The Wordless Travel Book
by Jonathan Meader
This inventive little book enables you to communicate in any country just by pointing at its clear, colorful icons. You no longer have to speak to be understood. The 450 drawings of everything from food to tools are arranged for quick effortless communication.

World Travel: A Guide to International Ecojourneys
by Dwight Holing, Consultant Editor
This is an incredibly comprehensive book about a growing new field of travel: visiting the world's wild places in a responsible, active and exciting way. The extensive bibliography and index can help you find the practical and the inspirational, the elegant and the purely fun places, each accompanied by small maps, excellent traveler's tips and vivid descriptions of such exotic places as ice floes of Antartica, grasslands of Africa or the deserts in the southwestern United States. An intoxicating read.