Tours and Travel Books

Great pictures. Great section on equiptment. Too many books are lacking in the equipment sections for fear of obsolescence, not this one! This is a great overview for road racing enthusiasts.

This book is superb. I couldn`t corner properly until I read the section on cornering, now I can power through at a higher speed than some of my team mates. The training section is particularly useful. Throughout this book makes its points with excellent colour photographs.

Before the diaries and journals of Sylvia Plath, May Sarton, Katherine Mansfield, Virginia Woolf, Alice James and others - there was the genius sister (of poet William Wordsworth), Ms. Dorothy Wordsworth. In her time especially (the 18th century to early 19th century), women were not taken seriously as would-be authors, poets, scholars or little else. The diary and belle lettres were their only outlet for such gifts. Dorothy was no stranger to sex discrimination so she hunkered down to record in the most gorgeous prose-poetry you have possibly ever read - her life and times travelling about Scotland and Europe as a lady of wealth, style and panache with her brother William and a few very famous companions I can't give away here. If you can afford it, purchase this book and her other two diaries-"The Grasmere Journals" and "The Continental Journals." They are all page-turners.

Dorothy Wordsworth takes you inside Scottish homes and public houses as if you were there. The first edition was published 125 years ago. The 1997 photographs, notes and introduction by Carol Kyros Walker greatly enhance the original work for a modern reader, especially one like me who has never been to Scotland. Having only one letter from my Scottish ancestors of the period, but remembering the relatives of my childhood, I can vividly imagine their forbears' ways and lives before they left Scotland in the early 1800's. The author combines a keen eye with honesty and frankness. She has much affection for the Scots.

The rich history of the Highlands is brought to life in Wyberg's Rediscovering Northwest Denver. This book highlights events and places starting with the larger-than-life Victorians and their ornate homes to the bungalows of the working-class Italians during the Prohibition era and up through the present day. There were wild-west shoot outs, fortunes made and fortunes lost, world famous residents, gold miners, mystic faith healers, national attractions, mob violence, novelists, and much more. Many of the families who helped build Northwest Denver also played an import part in the shaping of Colorado, the West, and America. This book is a treasure from one of the area's most intimate historians and is a must read for locals and history enthusiasts. I give it five stars because it's well written, interesting, and rich in local history. It's also rare to find something like this about your neighborhood . People interested in Western history will find this book interesting and it's a must read for residents as it will totally change their perception of the neighborhood.

For those interested in local history Ruth Wiberg's book about northwest Denver is a treasure of information. Containing beautiful photographs as well as detailed history, it can provide hours of pleasure either walking or driving the area as you learn about the past.

If you have any interest in Howe's Caverns, upstate New York history, or caves in general, this book will serve as a wonderful addition to your library. I stumbled upon the book by accident, and could not put it down until I had read the entire thing. The story behind the caverns is as incredible as the underground labrynth itself. Fascinating, well written and researched, this is one of the best books I have ever read regarding the upstate New York region.

Dana Cudmore, known all across New York state for his fantastic knowledge of the state's history, took his lifelong love of Howe Caverns and published it for all the world to love in his first book "The Remarkable Howe Caverns Story" The book focuses on all aspects of the remarkable cave, from the past to the present, as well as more about Lester Howe's life in general. It denounces many of the myths surronding one of the most reknown sites in the state, and provides the reader with many interesting and amazing facts. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the history of Howe Caverns, caving, or upstate New York.

This guidebook is divided into eight sections by geographic region, with a top-level map up front and detailed maps of each location by section. The entire book is black and white, but the maps and pictures are still crystal clear. The opening chapter is an index referencing any subject one could want to find in Rhode Island, from ballooning to antiques to quahogs to yachting. I was most impressed with the "Green Spaces" section for each region, listing dozens of outdoor parks and activities available in the Ocean State. While there are certainly other more detailed outdoor guidebooks to Rhode Island, they haven't been updated recently, and this is a great overview guide to the riches of "green space" available in Little Rhody. Also included are beaches with recommendations about what outdoor activities are appropriate at each. Plus, if you want to visit historic houses, historic churches, historic mansions, or general historic sites, this is the state and the guidebook for you.

For Activities, price information is noticeably missing. Perhaps detailed prices date a guidebook too much, but as a traveler, I'd like to get an idea whether this boat excursion or that historic house is within my general budget. Restaurants, on the other hand, are broken into price categories, and include terse yet informative descriptive information about the cuisine, location, and atmosphere. As a native, I'm well aware that hotels in Rhode Island are just plain more expensive than they are in other parts of the country. If you want to sleep in luxury, you can find some great direction from this guide. For a deal, I'd recommend utilizing Internet search engines. The low single-dollar-sign category in this book refers to hotels under a "mere" $95 (as of 2000).

There is something to be said for compact guidebooks, and this is not one. It is a generously oversized paperback with thick pages and both large fonts and margins. This isn't a book to tuck into your extra backpack pocket when trekking around. Then again, all that extra text left the authors room to inform me that Goddard Park was man-made by two generations of owners and is cited as one of the best man-made forestry projects of all time. Now, that's a new fact to try out on my parents!

This is a great book! Every time I am stumped on a local history question I can turn to this book and find the answer painlessly. As a guide to restaurants and attractions it just can't be beat. I recommend this book to locals and visitors as a great reference source.

A virtual open-house tour of outstanding wines and outstanding winemakers in France. More than an introduction to many little-known but estimable wines, this passionate guide dwells on the fascinating people behind every bottle. Especially good on the lesser known regions, like Languedoc Roussillon. An absolutely wonderful way to plunge into France. We've given it a starring role among the guidebooks we leave for people who rent our house there.

if you want to travel in the french vineyards and buy the most originals wines : get this book !

Excellent layout. Very informative. Maps are very helpful - not as helpful as free local maps. Very good recomendations for places to see and eat, and also avoid. Time alloted to certain sights is nowhere near enough, particularly the Colosseum and the Roman Forum.

This is a great Rome book. It's organized by neighborhood (i.e. Ancient Rome, Heart of Rome, and Vatican) and spends a great deal of text/photos on what it considers must see attractions in each area as well as ancillary attractions in the same area. Call me elementary but I also like the many color photos. If you are planning your own tour, this can help you quickly rule in (or rule out) things that strike your fancy. Furthermore, this book has great insider tips. Any book can tell you how to get from the the airport to Termini. This one tells you the best time to visit places and notes things that you might overlook when you are there.

The only real negative in the book has to be the maps. While there are good maps for each individual area profiled in the book, there isn't a good comprehensive map. Nor is every street mentioned in the book included in its map index. Something else I would like to see in future editions is a map of the metro (subway) lines laid over the city map. This allows you to tell what exactly where you are getting on/off the metro.

Overall, a good book. Comes in a nice handy travel size. Could fit in a decent sized pocket. Highly recommended.

What a beautiful city, full of spectacular buildings, cobblestone roads, gorgeous old windows, intricate doors, huge fountains, endless shopping, wonderful food & warm & friendly Italians! Unfortunately our trip to Rome coincided with the Pope's illness & subsequent death (while we were in Rome!), therefore we had no access to the Vatican. But it sure is stunning from outside.

We had no problem finding English speaking Italians in Rome, especially in hotels, restaurants & shops. This book successfully guided us to the Trevi Fountain, Colosseum, Basilica & the Pantheon, just to name a few of our stops. We had a rental car, but parked it & made our way by foot & by taxi. Driving in Rome is scarier than driving in Manhattan, especially with all of the mopeds turning in many directions at the same time!

This book made our days in Rome enjoyable, the restaurants suggested were all great. My husband fell in love with gelato, so we ended our days at different gelato counters. I fell in love with my daily cappucinos & pana cotta! I am not a coffee drinker, but went through cappucino withdrawls when I got home. I am now a pro at making pana cotta, oh it's divine!

The road side vendors are peddling some of the best proscuitto & rocket paninni sandwiches I had in Italy! I still think about those $2 sandwiches a year later! : )

If you're planning a trip to Rome you must get this book to guide you. My husband & I talk continuously about going back again very soon.

I've been to Italy several times.....Rome, Venice, Florence, Bologna, Milan, some of the hill towns, etc. Here are my reviews of the best guides to meet you r exact needs.....I hope these are helpful and that you have a great visit! I always gauge the quality of my visit by how much I remember a year later......this review is designed to help you get the guide that will be sure YOU remember your trip many years into the future. Travel Safe and enjoy yourself to the max!

Fodor's
Fodor's is the best selling guide among Americans. They have a bewildering array of different guides. Here's which is what:
The Gold Guide is the main book with good reviews of everything and lots of tours, walks, and just about everything else you could think of. It's not called the Gold guide for nothing though....it assumes you have money and are willing to spend it.
SeeIt! is a concise guide that extracts the most popular items from the Gold Guide
PocketGuide is designed for a quick first visit
UpCLOSE for independent travel that is cheap and well thought out
CityPack is a plastic pocket map with some guide information
Exploring is for cultural interests, lots of photos and designed to supplement the Gold guide

Rick Steves' books are not recommended. They may be an interesting read but their helpfulness is very poor. They don't do well on updates, transportation details, or anything but the first-time-tourist routine and even that is somewhat superficial on anything but the mega-major sites.

Frommer's
These are time tested guides that pride themselves on being updated annually. Although I think the guides below provide information that is in more depth or more concise (depending on what the guide is known for), if your main concern is that the guide has very little old or outdated information, then this would be a good guide for you.

Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet has City and Out To Eat Guides. They are all about the experience so they focus on doing, being, getting there, and this means they have the best detailed information, including both inexpensive and really spectacular restaurants and hotels, out-of-the-way places, weird things to see and do, the list is endless.

Blue Guides
Without doubt, the best of the walks guides.... the Blue Guide has been around since 1918 and has extremely well designed walks with lots of unique little side stops to hit on just about any interest you have. If you want to pick up the feel of the city, this is the best book to do that for you. This is one that you end up packing on your 10th trip, by which time it is well worn.

MapGuide
MapGuide is very easy to use and has the best location information for hotels, tourist attractions, museums, churches etc. that they manage to keep fairly up to date. It's great for teaching you how to use the public transportation system. The text sections are quick overviews, not reviews, but the strong suite here is brevity, not depth. I strongly recommend this for your first few times learning your way around the classic tourist sites and experiences. MapGuide is excellent as long as you are staying pretty much in the center of the city.

Time Out
The Time Out guides are very good. Easy reading, short reviews of restaurants, hotels, and other sites, with good public transport maps that go beyond the city centre. Many people who buy more than one guidebook end up liking this one best!

Let's Go
Let's Go is a great guide series that specializes in the niche interest details that turn a trip into a great and memorable experience. Started by and for college students, these guides are famous for the details provided by people who used the book the previous year. They continue to focus on providing a great experience inexpensively. If you want to know about the top restaurants, this is not for you (use Fodor's or Michelin). Let's Go does have a bewildering array of different guides though. Here's which is what:
Budget Guide is the main guide with incredibly detailed information and reviews on everything you can think of.
City Guide is just as intense but restricted to the single city.
PocketGuide is even smaller and features condensed information
MapGuide's are very good maps with public transportation and some other information (like museum hours, etc.)

Michelin
Famous for their quality reviews, the Red Michelin Guides are for hotels & Restaurants, the Green Michelin Guides are for main tourist destinations. However, the English language Green guide is the one most people use and it has now been supplemented with hotel and restaurant information. These are the serious review guides as the famous Michelin ratings are issued via these books.

The speed in which I received my book was wonderful - and I can't remember the last time a book that was used was in such great quality!
Thanks for making my Christmas a Merry One!

I visited Santa Fe 20 years ago and was charmed by the city, enough so that I moved here and have made it my home. I keep meeting other people with the same story.

So what a pleasure it is to find this beautifully photographed love song to Santa Fe! The historical photos are fascinating. I recognize some of the spots, but many places have changed so much. The nice thing is that Santa Fe, while growing and changing, retains is charm and its easygoing atmosphere.

This book is a treasure.

When I first received this book I was dismayed because it included alot of web links. However, after I started reading it I realized it was really a very good condensed book chock full of information and one doesn't have to go to the links in order to enjoy this book. We're going to Santa Fe for one week and this book has been a great help in narrowing down exactly where we want to go and what we want to do. I highly recommend it.

I love this book. It is so helpful and chock full of information.
Now that I have a computer I really appreciate all the email addresses.
The writting is clear and full of information and the photos are really nice and also helpful. This book will make my next trip to Santa Fe more enjoyable and easy to plan.