South America Books

This and it's sister publications are some of the most detailed, informative tour guides you will find! We simply love this series and the way it is written. There are few commercial details, i.e. hotel recommendations, restaurants etc.If you need that buy the Frommer's or Fodor's books but this one will take you way off the beaten path and bring you back again much more informed than when you left. You can't go wrong with any of the books in this entire series.....I know, I have them all!

This is a must for anyone wanting to see East Tennessee and get everything you can out of it! The book is easy to read and very informative. Maps are at the beginning of each section showing your possible journey, so you can take the entire journey or a portion and know exactly what you will find and see. The directions are excellent so you can't get lost. Now the only downfall...it is very similar to another book I purchased so don't waste your money this book has it all.

Tucker's collection of case studies involving the use or attempted use of chemical or biological weapons is truly excellent. It not only gives in-depth histories for each of the cases, but it also presents an analytical approach to their interpretation. The book is concluded by comparing all of the case studies in order to determine potential patterns and characteristics that would be useful in identifying potential terrorists and thwarting their efforts before they could come to fruition. Each case profiles the people that are involved, including the personalities of leaders, technicians, and of the actual cadres. It evaluates where and why successes occurred, and also where failures prevented perfect execution. From this book you will learn what certain groups have targeted, what as led them to violence, and how they attempted to use CBW. The book also examines a few cases where it has been believed that CBW was used, but the evidence has indicated otherwise. This book is perfect for people who desire to study terrorism in-depth, and for the reader who would like to be informed of many cases of terrorism throughout the 20th century.

Tucker's collection brings together analyses of all known historical usages of chemical and biological weapons (including toxins) by terrorists, as well as debunkings of three popular but apocryphal stories of such use. The book is absurdly thorough, and an invaluable historical resource, whether one agrees or not with the conclusions the editor draws from the collection.

Badlands National Park is nearly a quarter of a million acres - 25% of federally designated wilderness and 50% of it on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, making 75% of it completely undeveloped. This map will help you safely explore the park - both on and off-road. Remember - no pets in the backcountry. Make sure someone knows where you're going if you plan on spending nights camping out.

This is one of the better maps produced by Trails Illustrated. T. I. has dispensed with the atmospheric colorizing overwash used in some earlier maps in the series, leaving us with a map that is easier to read. Important in an area where you need to be VERY precise about the lay of the land. Elevation change here is not great, but abrupt and hard to predict. Instincts and expectations that have worked elsewhere might not work here. Use a compass. (If you use one of those GPS devices, make sure it doesn't beep. Bugs the buffalo and old-timers like me.)
Both the older "Badlands Nat'l Monument" area in the north and the less-visited southern additions co-managed with the Pine Ridge Indian reservation are included on the two sides of this tear-resistant map (using some sort of plasticized material that has fortunately become common in maps in the last years).
If the Badlands fascinate you, you'll be tempted to charge off cross-country, as there aren't many maintained trails away from the visitor center at Interior. Don't go far without this map or a USGS topo. (Or your beeping gizmo.)
If you don't want to deal with secondary sellers off Amazon, you may want to contact the Badlands Natural History Association in Interior SD. They carry the map and are pleasant to deal with.

A very good, concise history of some of the mountain men and fur trapper/traders of the early American West. It is along the same line of thought as Robert Utley's "A Life Wild and Perilious". Whereas Utley's book is more of a chronological history of the fur trappers, this one is based more on geographical location. Each chapter is devoted to an individual character and the life of that person. Many of these early trapper/traders' lives interweave with each other and therefore you have more of a tendency to remember who knew who and who did what with who, etc. After reading chapter after chapter, it humbles one when looking back at these mens' lives and how much they accomplished, whether it be in how many places they traveled, what sort of trade they were involved in, their relationships with the Indians and each other, how some were involved with the initial founding of the west, etc. It is simply amazing what went on so long ago. I have much respect and admiration for these men.

I believe five separate collections of mountain man biographies have been published now by Bison Books, all containing biographical essays culled from LeRoy R. Hafen's ten-volume series THE MOUNTAIN MEN AND THE FUR TRADE OF THE FAR WEST, published between 1965 and 1972. This was the second of the five. Sixteen biographical essays are produced here, detailing the lives of some of the most important figures of the early American West, including Etienne Provost, Milton Sublette, James Clyman, James P. Beckwourth, Robert Campbell, and Lucien Fontenelle among others. The essays are written by various experts of the Fur Trade period. The biographies read like long encyclopedia articles, and relate as much of each man's life as is generally known (including specific movements across the West on yearly trapping expeditions); footnotes abound. The book, as is the entire series, is an excellent research tool, as well as a great jumping off source for more specific investigations (many of the trappers written about kept journals or wrote accounts of their experiences). Anyone with an interest in the pre-Gold Rush American West will find this book (and the series) indispensable. Highly recommended.

From the author, Gerry Leitner: Argentina! The name conjures up visions of the pampas, gauchos and tango.

But Argentina has much more to offer: Argentina is home of the highest mountain in South America, it shares with Brazil the mighty Iguazu falls and in the far south it has some awe-inspiring glaciers. But did you know that the north-western part formed once part of the great Inca Empire? In fact one of the main Inca trails coming down from Bolivia traverses the north western altiplano region of Argentina

linking many pre-columbian settlements right down to the Province of Mendoza. Many of which are still waiting for the arrival of the archeologist. Add to this the many national parks, beaches and backed up with a very modern infrastructure and you have got the makings of a wonderful travel destination.

This book was written with the intent to give the reader - whether backpacker or discerning five-star traveler - the most complete view of this fascinating tourist destination. "Travel Companion Argentina" was not tied to an accountant's budget: no effort was spared to bring to my readers the best available information. I have covered at least 90% of all places where either there is something of tourist interest or there are tourist facilities. I can safely say that my bus information tables are the most complete: listed are services to even small, distant places: if there is a bus, frequency, fares, and traveling time are indicated. Back ground information includes history, economy of provinces and towns, notes on local dishes and type of food served in restaurants. Fishing, skiing, white water rafting, mountaineering, bird watching and how to contact specialist tour operators by phone, fax or even e-mail, all are covered in this book. The book weighs 12oz; hardly excessive for the amount of information it contains.

So become an "armchair traveler" first reading what my book has to say about this wonderful travel destination and then if you feel that this is what you want to see personally, proceed to make your travel plan. Yes, with my "Travel Companion Argentina" you can make an almost perfect travel plan taking into consideration your time available - and of course the money you wish to spend. And don't forget to take this travel guide with you in case you want to change some travel plans on the spot.

I hasten to add that Argentina with its climate ranging from the tropics to subantarctic is a travel destination all year round.

This has to be the most comprehensive guide to Argentina ever written. It's over 1,000 pages, covering the country from top to toe. Over 2,500 locations are profiled - mountains, rivers, preserves, villages, historic sites, cities. What to see and do, where to stay and eat and when to visit. From each main center, you are offered a selection of excursions. Includes thousands of e-mail addresses and useful websites. 24 color maps detail every section of the country. There are also well over 100 street plans for every town of any significance in the country.

The Travelers' Tales series is a set of anthologies of short pieces, typically 5-20 pages each, assembled around a particular theme. Many of the volumes are dedicated to a particular travel destination (e.g., the Southwest, Thailand, Italy), while some are thematically organized (Food, Spiritual Gifts of Travel, Women on the Road, etc).

The collections run from the passable to the magnificent: reading them reminds of how terrific writing becomes when inspired by an exotic, memorable place. The best of these volumes bring back the flavors, the smells, and the breezes of distant places with an immediacy that your vacation photo album can't by itself match.

This southwest volume is probably one of the better ones in the series, owing largely to the fantastic quality of the region. I consider myself a fairly experienced world traveler, and for my money the unspoiled beauty of the landscape in this part of America is unsurpassed anywhere in the world. (I haven't yet seen New Zealand, the Alaskan wild, or the Himalayas, so I'm still reserving an absolute final judgment.)

I am a lover of desert landscapes, but I've come to understand that I don't love all deserts equally: I've seen deserts ranging from the Gobi to the Sahara, but have found nothing quite like the American southwest, with its canyons, its hoodoos, its towering red rock formations like so many giant goblins, its endless views, its rock labyrinths, its lizards, the peaceful shade of its cliffs, its scents of juniper, sage and pinion. The introduction to this book compares a journey into the desert southwest to a breath of fresh air in the soul, and that certainly fits.

With such inspiring material, a collection of pieces by skilled writers could hardly miss, and this one delivers. The best piece in here is probably the excerpt "Water" from "Desert Solitaire," by the incomparable and curmudgeonly Edward Abbey. This piece is, however, closely rivaled by the also-magnificent "Bridge Over the Wind," a tribute to Landscape Arch in Arches National Park, vividly capturing not only the gorgeous improbability of that particular arch, but also the feel of a hike through Devil's Garden to reach it.

Other fine pieces in the collection explore the hidden treasures of the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, the fascinations of Navajo country, and activities ranging from flying solo over Monument Valley, to hunting for obscure pictographs.

It's not a flawless collection: there are a few too many New Age-y pieces for my taste. The southwest seems to draw a fair number of spiritualist pilgrims, so for every Edward Abbey withdrawing to the wilderness to see himself and the society around him more starkly, there are plenty of folks who luxuriate in reducing Native American culture to a collection of comforting but absurd talismans and superstitions. A reader with a perfectly healthy respect and appreciation for Native American cultures might well come away, as I did, annoyed at some of the insipid romanticization of their folkways.

But, in a sense, it is what it is; this phenomenon is definitely part of the southwestern cultural landscape, and it's therefore appropriate that it be reflected in this book.

The collection is a pleasant read throughout, and will inspire both real and armchair travelers to direct their attention to this most beautiful of American places.

This is just a fabulous book. It will bring the Southwest to life for all discerning readers.

This book has proven to be very interesting to our guests as they visit our new vacation home in Baja California, Mexico. They love browsing or reading it for insights into the country they are visiting.

In A Traveller's History Of Mexico, historian Kenneth Pearce provides the reader with an informative, engaging history that begins the prehistoric life of the region, and continues with the coming of the Olmecs and the Mayans (1150-1000 BC), whose cultures were subsumed into the Aztec empire. The reader is treated to a vivid account of Aztec life and its ultimate demise with the arrival off the Spanish conquistadors. The consequent greed, corruption, and oppression of Spanish colonial rule and the Catholic Church are covered in detail. Pearce then moves on to the 19th Century War of Independence which led to the founding of the Mexican Republic, the brief reign of Emperor Maximilian and the Empress Carlotta, the dashing Santa Anna (who led the siege on the Alamo); revolutionaries Emiliano Zapata and Pancho Villa, and other influential characters that were caught up in Mexico's' often violent power struggles. Highly recommended for personal, school, and community history collections, A Traveller's History Of Mexico concludes with the last 70 years of one-party political domination, recently ending with an election of the opposition, and the contemporary social issues of an expanding population, drugs, pollution, corruption, and an oppressed indigenous population.

My entire family read this book during the Christmas holidays. My kids range from age 5 to 15 and all four enjoyed it. The stories gave a wonderful picture of growing up in the Caribbean and made us want to visit. We also loved the authors' telling about themselves. The activities at the end of each story kept my children occupied. I think these activities are a good way of getting children to really understand and enjoy the stories. Great family reading.

This book kept my 6 year old cousin and myself hooked. The stories were fun, and the illustrations engaging, and at the same time, I also learned a little more about Caribbean life. I could even relate some of the stories to things that I went through as I was growing up. Overall, a great book to include in your library at home.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. Firsly the illustrations are lavish, both in quantity and in clarity and colour, and alone are worth buying the book for. The ancient Andean world was a colourful place and this book does it full justice with wonderful photographs of textiles, ceramics and metal work. There are many photographs of artefacts and sites that I have not seen before which was makes the book refreshingly new. Even when familiar sites are photographed (Machu Picchu for example) the choice has been made to include shots from unusual but interesting angles.
I was also impressed by the written content. I know of Jeffrey Quilter through his work with Gary Urton editing Narrative Threads - a book on the Khipu (Quipu). His account in this volume is very readable and gets across some key points regarding Andean culture well. The difficult balance of providing some detail on each culture whilst avoiding generalisations is successfully achieved. The theme of building from the earliest cultures to the lastest shows both the variety and the continuity of Andean cultures and what a creative place the ancient Andes were.
In short, I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in ancient Peru.

The editorial reviewer and customer Dave Essery have accurately summarized what awaits one between the covers of this book. I would, however, add the following specifics about its stunning photography. Of its 202 colored photographs, 69 are one- to-two-page spreads; only 55 are smaller than a third of a page. Panoramic views, monumental sites and their architectural details comprise approximately 25% of the photos, which is to say that textiles, ceramics, and metalwork are not slighted.

As for the appeal of the text-- Because my interest in pre-Columbian cultures and their artistry/craftsmanship has only recently been sparked, I wanted a book that gave me a basic understanding of them without overwhelming me with voluminous detail. And this is precisely what Jeffrey Quilter does, in well-written, non-academic prose. Yet the text may also appeal to those who have studied them. Said one such friend to whom I loaned my book, "I enjoyed reading it because it was like a refresher course that jogged my memory and brought to mind other things I'd read but had forgotten."

TREASURES OF THE ANDES, in other words, is a book that many will treasure. I have, however, detailed the contents of it in Comment #2 so that you will be better able to determine if it is a book you want to purchase.

This bilingual text enhances the experience of reading Paz's poetry. His poetic form can be as spare and suggestive as tanka/haiku or dense with visual imagery as in the poem, A Fable of Joan Miro. The meditative tone of many selections suggests that beyond the accomplishments of art, literature and music, the essential composition is of oneself: "to learn to see so that things will see us and come and go through our seeing." Highly recommended.

Octavio Paz wrote some of the most remarkable poetry and prose of the 20th century. The collection of poems entitled "A Tree Within" represents one of his most memorable achievements. A remarkable diverse blend of short lyrics and longer, Whitmanesque creations, "A Tree Within" is definitely a collection that bears careful reading and re-reading.

The book is richly studded with multicultural references and allusions--to Epictetus, Buddha, Gilgamesh, Jack the Ripper, the Aztecs, Don Quixote, and many, many, more. But Paz is not merely trying to dazzle us with his knowledge. He is also introspective and revealing. He struggles with deep questions about language, love, and other concerns.

Paz seems to be searching both for an ideal poetic language, and for a form of connectedness that transcends language--a paradoxical quest, yet pure Paz. When he writes "Man's word / is the daughter of death" (in the poem "To Talk"), it strikes me as both a tragically naked confession of inadequacy and a moment of serene liberation. At other times, Paz seems, like Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson, to be groping towards the creation of a sort of "secular scripture" for the (post)modern age.

In the poem "I Speak of the City," Paz writes, "I speak of our public history, and of our secret history, yours and mine." The histories recorded by this visionary genius are certainly some of the most important literary creations of the 20th century.