Theme Parks Books

We took this book on our return trip to Disney. We hadn't been there in 6 yrs and didn't want to miss anything that was added since our last trip. This book was great! It had information on everything from how to get there, where to stay,getting familiar with the area, dining out, all about Disney, exploring the rest of Orlando, and Orlando nightlife. It finishes up with 2 top ten lists, "Top ten cheap alternatives to the parks." and "Top ten fitness activities". It had an adult review and a child's review of everything. It had several game plans for seeing everything you want to see, including how to take advantage of fastpasses and what were the peak times in each part of the parks, restaurant reviews and prices, everything. It wasn't just a book about Disney. When we say it had everything, we mean it! We highly recommend this book for getting the most out of your vacation to Florida.

Living only two hours away from Disney, we visit the Orlando area attractions several times a year, so this book is the perfect companion for getting the most out of each trip. Not only does it include the most up-to-date information on the Magic Kingdom, it also covers Animal Kingdom, Universal Studios, Epcot -- even the non-Disney parks and nightlife and dining. (After all, the trip isn't just for the kids!) The writing is easy to read, entertaining and clear, too. A definite must for anyone planning a daytrip, a weeklong vacation or a monthlong holiday.

Jim and Cynthia did an absolutely fantastic job on this publication. I have read many reviews and help books and this one is, hands down, the best one ever. The writing style is phonomenal as well as it provides much insight on Florida, Disney, attractions......anything you want to know is in this book in a very in-depth, easy-to-follow, and fun manner.

An asset to any traveller, Disney fanatic, travel researcher...this book has endless uses.

I would highly recommend this book to everyone and everyone whether you are travelling or not.

Fantastic! 10/10

Really great photos of mounatin scapes in and about Yosimite. Waterfalls, forests, mountains and sky. Typical Ansel, most flawless.

Ansel Adams is SO, like, awesome!!!

These photographs are simply breathtaking! Ansel Adams had this uncanny knack for taking the beautiful mountains, trees, clouds and waterways of the High Sierras, and making them look beautiful. It's so amazing contemplating an Ansel Adams photograph: How he took something only visually stunning and transforming it into something so visually stunning is simply astounding!

How DID he do that?

This is a beautiful book. I suspect the pints are as high in quality as Ansel would have wished them.
I'm glad I bought this book and will enjoy the pictures contained within it for many years.

What can you say about a book on one of the most beautiful places on earth, I mean how can you make this place more spectacular...well this book does it. Mr. Cameron is such an amazing photographer, that he would make Ansel Adams take note. Not since the before mentioned Mr. Adams has Yosemite looked better. The park is photographed from every conceiveable arial angle; just spectacular. I highly recommend this book to anyone who appreciates great photography and mother nature at her best.

A great book detailing a lot about natural history and presenting views seldom seen of the park. One minor complaint is that some of the spectacular features of the park look very tiny from the air and hard to pick out. Still, Cameron takes pictures of familiar sights from unfamiliar angles which are continuously refreshing. Gilliam's text is very informative (a dam above Nevada Falls?) and presents a lot of new insights on the park. Must have book for lovers of the Above... series and Yosemite-philes.

Alan Nyiri's notes accompanying the images caused me to see them differently than I expected to upon sitting down and opening Acadia Panorama. One gets the faintest notion that his use of panoramic equipment puts Nyiri self-consciously outside the norm, as if he were requiring us to use a GAF Viewmaster or employing some contrivance to interpret the scenes. Reading the notes increased my curiosity and intensified my inspection, corner to corner, edge to edge, over and over. Somewhere along the way there was a spark of recognition. I had been there once before, not to Mt. Desert, but to that place where you can tell yourself you have nothing better to do than to wait and watch, gather in a bunch of seemingly wasted moments till you apprehend THE moment. I wanted to be there again, so I slowly turned page after page, imagining the ascent to the vantage point, thinking how brisk the air must be, how my beard must be getting a bit straggly after several days, how little I am missing revving engines and ringing phones. Thank you my dear friend Mr. Nyiri, for taking me to that place again.

Alan Nyiri combines a sensitivity of light, a keen sense of place and obvious love of nature to produce this marvelous collection of images. In this book the artist explores and expands the panoramic format in the exquisite setting of one of the most beautiful parks in all the world. If you're a fan of panoramic photography, a fan of Mount Desert Island, or are considering a visit to that enchanted island, you'll want this book.

Full disclosure; I'm a friend of Alan's and an admirer of his work.

I became aware of this book by seeing Jack Perkins interviewed on Maine Public Television about it. It was a wonderful interview and he read some of his poems and explained how the book came to be. It has always been a secret hope of mine that I might bump into Jack some place in Maine, but it has not happened yet. The next best thing is to own his book, and then he can talk to you and share his vision of this unique area of our lovely state. His talent is not limited to his high profile experiences in television journalisim for NBC. He is an accomplished photographer and poet and he has a wonderful heart.

Poetry has gone out of fashion in our obsession with things that take no work and require no thought. Recently my wife and I hosted a dinner in Washington at which Jack spoke. He read from and commented on his poems. For an old broadcast journalist to attempt something like this before an audience of other, mostly cynical journalists was very brave, indeed. But Jack brought it off in a way that had people listening respectfully and then responding enthusiastically. Many promised to immediately purchase their own copies. Whatever relationship you may or may not have with Maine, "Acadia" will do something for your heart that few other contemporary books can do. I highly recommend it as a gift, or for your own consumption and enjoyment. I guarantee you will not be disappointed.

I was privilaged to be present at the slide show presented by Carl Heilman at the annual Adirondack Club dinner last autumn. Many exquisite pictures from this book were shown. Mr. Heilman has captured the true spirit of dawn in the mountains, children leaping with joy , winter landscapes, and especially the wild creatures that most of us may never be patient enough to discover in their natural homes.Many shots exhibit a seemingly impossible depth of field sharply focusing on both a spider web in the foreground and Mount Marcy in the background. The book is full of beautiful images not to be missed!

Photographer Carl E. Hellman has crafted a collection of Adirondack photographs that continue to fascinate page after page. All aspects of this remarkable region are well represented from the wildest of waterways and majectic peaks to the outlying areas of cozy farms and inland towns. By far the most amazing photographs are those in wide-screen format - much wider than anything this reviewer has seen elsewhere. Ranging from awe-filled aerial views from high peaks in all seasons to the intimate settings of bogs and marshes, Hellman captures the mood of these mountains. Mist shrouded ponds, newly falling snow, green glimpses through mature virgin forests and close-ups from lady-slippers to primeval bogs; the viewer is mesmerized. Overwhelming beauty and the calm feeling of a lonely untouched wilderness is caught everywhere. This is a collector's item to cherish all year long.

This is a beautiful book, beautifully written. I highly recommend your purchase of this book. Besides, I know the writer of this book and he's doing important environmental work as a documentary filmmaker focusing on California's fragile ecosystems.

This is a FANTASTIC collection of photographs by a real artist. The East Bay Regional Park District lands (Alameda & Contra Costa Counties in CA) are one of a kind jewels to be enjoyed. Thanks to some visionaries these parks, trails and open spaces have been preserved for humankind.

This book is beautiful; a work of art. Matthias Breiter may very well be the most knowledgeable naturalist on earth when it come to brown bears.

Buy this book for the outstanding photographs!!! I thouroughly enjoyed this book, and everytime I pick it up, I get this urge to fly to Alaska to see these magnificent creatures.

Great photography with poetic like readings. A different approach to enjoy this incredible Park. Actually comes alive. Took the book and relived some of the pictures with the readings in person. My way of enjoying nature through anothers eyes and words.

Great book with the most beautiful full page photos of Big Bend National Park that I have ever seen! Makes me want to go back right away. It was well worth the money...

The review by Mr. Fowler pretty much sums up the book. For me there isn't anyone who can capture images of Big Bend quite like James Evans. I have long been a fan of his work and have waited for this book for many years. For those who have never been to the Big Bend region this book offers a chance to be introduced to what makes it so special. It isn't just the landscapes, it is the people. Big Bend Pictures communicates to me what makes west Texas so special. To stare into these pictures allows me to travel back to the region and experience again the heat, the dry air, the clouds(good lord the clouds, just look at how he captures the clouds) and the people. Gaze into the eyes of his subjects and know what it means to live life. Big Bend is like no other place on earth and James' photographs are like no others.

The Big Bend area of West Texas is both seductive and elusive to visitors. The immense scale, loneliness and beauty of the desert scenery can immediately charm any visitor to this remote borderland, and many books have succeeded in extolling these virtues. However, the human denizens of the Big Bend can be quirky lot, with a big dose of individuality an apparent requirement for remaining in these parts for very long.
In this new large-format book, James Evans has succeeded admirably in capturing for the viewer the essence of the human dimension of this vast land. Yes there are panoramas and thunderstorms on these pages, but it's the direct and intimate portraits of the people that will capture your attention. Elderly ranchers (and ranch women), young children, Anglos, Hispanics, funerals, dances, homes, animals - all powerful and direct visual statements. Many of these scenes aren't pretty. There's grit and violence, poverty, sadness; but it's all real. Evans has spent the past 15 years living in the Big Bend (he has a studio and gallery in tiny Marathon, TX), taking time to really know his subjects, gaining their trust, opening a window of truth before his lens. As a regular visitor to these parts, I feel Evans has finally captured the real essence of this amazing region for all of us Big Bend lovers to enjoy.
There are 102 duotone photographs, most are full or double page. A real bonus is James' comments about each photograph in the rear appendix. It is there we come to understand a little more about each of his subjects, and ultimately a bit about Evans as well. And good value, too; lots of book here for the quite reasonable price. And I like the horned lizard endpapers.