Touring Books

The book is good, easy to read and provides interesting trips.

What it lacks is distance information and time-frames (yes, I know the author says all trips can be done in a day, but might take a weekend or more! That doesn't help scheduling a weekend trip).

It would be really useful to have distances between the high points of the trips, zip codes for the cities (mapquest, anyone?) and a basic time-frame for each section of each trip.

Finally, the book seems to ignore any source of information on the internet, always pointing you to phone numbers... If I don't stop my car to ask for directions, why would I call someone to get information??? ;-)

So, the book is good, but be prepared to consult additional resources for distances and durations. And regarding finding information on the internet - you are on your own...

...let me tell you a few things -- it really is the best darned guide to Wisconsin you'll ever find. He hit most every backroad in in the state. This book is different than the usual guides in that it focuses on the fun to drive wiggly roads that driving enthusiasts enjoy -- AND has an insiders view of where to go, stop, eat, play and shoot pictures. My husband says the publishers should have given it a better title...something like "The Cows Made us Do it"....but I suggest you get a copy and check out these tours. They're NOT your usual dash from one attraction to another. You'll have a great time. MPK

"Hiking and Biking in DuPage County, Illinois" is mostly a reference book. Located 25 miles west of Chicago in the midst of suburbia, DuPage County might not be where great hiking is expected, but Jim Hochgesang shows otherwise.

Hochgesang outlines the best features and reach of the Illinois Prairie Path, a 55+ mile network of almost paved paths within the forest preserves. It has the kind of information you'd find in pamphlets. The differences are that he writes well and it is all in one book. No need with to fumble through a satchel of flyers when you've got this book.

The IPP is a biker's dream, and many people use it to commute, circumventing traffic and enjoying the gorgeous northern Illinois outdoors. The forks and branches can take a traveler through some beautiful scenery and within blocks of most important western suburban locales.

He details the history of the paths, and the landmarks worth seeing. He gives us the gray tree frog in Waterfall Glen, Graue Mill at Fullersburg Woods, and Salt Creek in the Northeast Forest Preserve. He takes mile-by-mile down wooded lanes, and tells us the mileage for each link of the route.

A special chapter is devoted to the verdant Morton Arboretum, a treasure located in Lisle, Ill.

It needs an update, but the maps are still accurate. Many areas have seen changes, including the Arboretum, whose entrance area underwent a significant overhaul in the summer of 2003.

I have used it successfully to plan long bike trips and runs. If you run or bike, or like a leisurely autumn walk, and are thinking of finding out what DuPage offers, buy this book.

Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com

I moved to DuPage County 3 years ago. Having lived in Alaska, I enjoyed scenic hiking. However, it seems that no one knew anything about hiking or bike trails in the area with the exception of a few forest preserves.

Mr. Hochgesang's book has a thorough list of places to hike and bike in DuPage county. Mr. Hochgesang also gives various other pieces of useful information such as maps, parking areas, facilities, what you might see on a particular hike, area history, etc.

The book has 23 sections, each describing at least one place and the various trails (some sections describe several if they are close to each other). The book is slightly outdated, with the information being from around 1994. Despite this, it is still an excellent book to get acquainted with the various parks, forest preserves, and trailes in DuPage County, Illinois.

This book has some very interesting information on the areas of western NC. The details are accurate and I do plan to take the motorcycle tours as the book describes. This book is ideal for anyone planning to visit western NC, motorcycle or not. If you live here like I do, you will still get some useful information.

I just returned from a motorcycle trip to this region with my son. One of the routes we used was totally from the guide. It was just as described!
The little extras that change a ride from routine to something special are all there.
I recommend it!

Beautiful photographs, history, and background information of a Yosemite backcountry ski hut by photographer and hutmeister Howard Weamer.

OK. I'm biased--I'm Howard's assistant at Ostrander Hut. It's a great review of the history of skiing in Yosemite (ca 1930s +). Excellent color photos by the author.

The book is useful, and provides good insights into the rides described if you happen to live close to a number of rides. There are two considerations that make the book less useful than it should be.

First, the rides, as the title suggests, are short - some are less than 10 miles. Second, since Connecticut is a large state, you can expect to be a very substantial distance from any particular ride. While it might be worth it to drive 50-100 miles to participate in a bike trip of 50 miles, if the bike trip is only 10 miles, then the drive doesn't necessarily seem worth it.

This book is great for anyone who wants to go out for a short Bike ride in the morning or evening or anytime. The instructions to get to a riding route are easy enough to follow that a person can usually find the route without a map, Although it is always good to have one. The book gives sites to see along the routes, as well as difficulty, Safety, and a detailed map with text describing what to do with all 36 routes. All in all a good book for any one who wants to go for a short, scenic bike ride in Connecticut.

Nice bike rides in this book. Hawaii is kind of tough to get lost and also hard to find low traffic roads to ride on. You can pretty much see them on the map. It was helpful though.

If you are planning a trip to Hawaii with your bike this is the best guide available. Has rides of all difficulty levels and good descriptions of local settings and lore without overloading you with a lot of fluff.

I just want to know when the author's guide to illegal watershed hikes of Oahu will be published.

When we scheduled a trip to the Black Forest last year, we rushed to get a copy of this book so we could have a wine- and travel-guide local to the area. (Plus, we really like Pigott's other book on German wine, which is now regrettably out of print.)

There's many things to like about this book, even if you aren't a wine snob. (I'm far from knowledgeable -- I simply like German wine, so I want a guide that'll tell me how to use my time and taste buds wisely.)

The book is organized into geographies, such as "Kaiserstuhl and Tuniberg" or "Ortenau." Each section describes the overall characteristics of the area. ("Whichever the soil type, the Pinot family of grapes accounts for a good two thirds of all plantings.") It also provides a list of recommended producers, hotels and restaurants, and places of interest. These descriptions are very short, usually a single paragraph, so don't assume you can get away without a regular guide book as well. The pictures are lovely, too, assuming that you're the kind of person who likes to look at photos of vineyards.

The reviews don't pull their punches, and they give a sense of each place's value ("Excellent meat dishes and good ocean fish... fairly expensive food; moderately priced rooms") so you know what you're getting into. I don't think I happened to visit any of the recommended hotels or restaurants, so I can't tell you how accurate they are.

However, the irksome part of the book is its brevity when the details matter. Perhaps I'm used to having my hand held more than they think I need. When we wanted to find a winery that was listed, we had no idea where to look on the regional map. (Germany has a lot of *tiny* towns.) Nor did I have any idea what to expect in regard to wine tasting customs. Accustomed to the well-marked signs in northern California, I was surprised by how much I had to search for the wine tasting room for the recommended co-op I'd chosen. (It was definitely worth the quest, however.)

I like this book quite a bit, though I think it's a good title to read before you go rather than to take along.

Very interesting book with a beautiful color photos, good data for wine collectors and wine travelers in europa. rates, sites,winerys and high level restaurants in beautiful and friendly Germany.

This is the other book I purchased as a birthday gift for my son-in-law who is an avid hiker and prefers naturalist areas that are less traveled. He was very pleased with this book also

This book is loaded with interesting information on the history, and were to find the evidence of that history for middle Tennessee. Easy reading and enjoyable, even if you never take one of the suggested tours. The author makes the reader feel like they are listening to an old friend tell them how to enjoy a Sunday drive.

It's not often that real authors (Bill McKibben and Sue Halpern) get in the outdoor guidebook business. This bike book is a winner.

We bought the book and used is exclusively to prepare and conduct bicycle trips in the Hudson valley. The trip length and route layout suites the occasional to average trained cyclist. The routes are using mostly side roads which makes the trips safe and pleasant. The indication of the mileage for each step make sure than no turn or remarkable viewpoint is missed. The abstract that precedes the detailed description of each tour is a good help to pick a route for the day. We highly recommend the book to anyone who has a interest in cycling in the Hudson Valley. Hopefully there will be more cyclists in the future as this area is great to be explored and enjoyed from the bicycle.