Budget Books

I am not sure Harvard makes you a good travel writer. Take what you think is the average Harvard student and stick them in the middle of a strange country on a very limited budget. Now imagine them writing a book about it--- that is Let's Go.

The books vary like the students (with no experience) that write them. They perform a decent job, but should be supplemented especially if the book covers multiple countries. If you are on a cheap budget then use their accomodation list and someone else's book to help you around.

Greece---the islands at least---is different... everyone and their dog will be waiting for you at the ferry landing offering you a place to stay. If you are with a goup take one of the offers, they are (inexpensive) and for the most part nice.
If you are alone, the people will just rent you a group room for the same group price. Traveling alone is the only time the Greece book will (marginally) help because you might be able to actually find something cheaper.

I've always entrusted my travels to Let's Go. Sifted through Lonely Planet and Frommer's and all seem fairly reliable and informative (except for monetary discrepencies which can't be helped because of price changes throughout the year).

What sets Let's Go apart from other budget travel books is the excellent writing style. It's witty, whimsical and humorous. As a literature buff, I find myself grinning at how some authors pen their experiences. These folks know how to write!

I just wish the portion on Cyclades Islands was more detailed. But I suppose one book can't cover just one part of Greece. Also, can Let's Go change the quality of the paper? It's rough to my touch and hard to keep bent. In addition, I have to lug the book around everywhere and would appreciate a sturdier, more indestructible book. And how about some beautiful color photos like Lonely Planet?

Overall, kudos to Let's Go Greece 2000 for the quality of the writing and reliable information.

I bought Let's Go and was not impressed. It does not hold a candle to ROUGH GUIDE or Footprint. The practical information is fine but it is written in such a campus political correct fashion which becomes grating after a while. I know they are politically correct in Harvard Yard, but their writing of history is so smug and black and white. It also is ridiculously Amero-centric. They tend to forget that other nations read the book, or they don't care. From now on I will give it a wide berth. ROUGH guide, Footprint and Lonely Planet are not written for one nation in mind - this is why they work so well.

I recently bought Let's Go India Nepal through Amazon because I live in the Philippines, where Lonely Planet is much easier to get. I am sitting in Kathmandu as I write. I have found Let's Go India Nepal to be what I expected. I first bought Let's Go Europe ten years ago, when my work enabled me to travel extensively there. I like the writers' attempts to educate as well as provide interesting things to see and do without spending much money. I later bought Let's Go USA for travel within my own country. It has enabled me to visit similarly educational and inexpensive cultural sites I would not have had time to find on my own. If this approach appeals to you, Let's Go India Nepal will meet your needs. I do not think of myself as "Amero-centric," (although I know plenty of people who are) and am often flattered by questions about whether I am from UK or Europe. Nor did I attend Harvard University, although I have enjoyed walking through many fine bookstores near there. I thought about giving Lonely Planet a try due to their reputation for the Asian countries, but endorsements on the jackets of Lonely Planet and Let's Go Southeast Asia (which I did find in Manila) enabled me to decide. Lonely Planet's endorsement was from Sports Illustrated, while Let's Go's was from The Economist. I'm with Let's Go!

If you want to go to Europe and drink this is the book for you. If you want to go to Europe to "fraternize" this is the book for you too. If you're going to Europe with other things in mind, I'd find another book.

I wish I'd had this book on my last trip to Amsterdam. However, it has been fantastic for planning my next European foray. It covers all the countries of Western Europe, and carries pretty detailed information about each of them. For instance, it tells women, when in Marseilles how to tell French men to piss off in French! And also tells you what streets to avoid after dark. The reason why it is detailed is because the editors not only take the trips themselves, but they also do it every year. Ah, tough job huh?

At any rate, my trip is a multi country one, and bam! Page 6 has the perfect outline for doing just that. What more could I ask for? How about the Let's Go team pays for my trip? No? Well, it was worth a try. A few of the things I like is that information is detailed when it needs to be, and vague when it needs to be. For instance, train schedules, and ticket prices are kept ballpark figure. Lists of hotels, also with curfew times, so you don't get left out in the cold. Historical backgrounds of each country so you can wow the locals with the interest you show in their lovely countries. Tongue-in-cheek humor to keep you from falling asleep. Paper back so you can beat hell out of it, and you look like you know your way around the place. What is missing though are the color maps promised on the back cover. Small enough to fit in your pack, or thick enough to beat off Parisian muggers. I just love a travel book that explains the mystical contents of Haggis, don't you?

I highly recommend this book, not only for it's value, but for the plethora of useful information hidden within it's matte finish cover. I think it will make any backpack traveler's life much easier, in both planning and execution.

It's a decent book, but I have two beefs with it. Beef #1 is that there are quite a few recipes taken straight from the Biochemical Machine. Since this is a companion recipe book, I expected it to make references to the original without exact copies. My second beef is that some of the recipes are incomplete. I have found several that fail to mention all the ingredients. For example, one recipe calls for potatoes, 2-4 cups of oil, sour cream, and chives. Nowhere in the description are the chives or the oil mentioned. There are about 1/2 a dozen occurrences of this that I've found so far. Some of these you can deduce what needs to be done, but others (like the one mentioned above) leave you utterly clueless. That said, there are several really excellent looking recipes in this book and I think it is a valuable addition to anyone following the A&B method. I just would have liked to have seen more originality and more attention to detail.

pretty good book but I've read better, fairly simplistic for the proffesional but good overall background info

I wrote this paper, and boy does it hurt to read. It is an overly academic, stretched out analysis of whether the Mn Legislature should go to annual or stay with biennial budgeting.

Notable only for the fact that the author (me) refused to decide the issue... And I refused to decide it because I saw the Mn Legislature balanced on the knife edge of full or part-time status, and thought that this issue ought to be decided first...

I still see the Mn Legislature balanced on the edge between full and part-time status, and I still think that this is the real question, and budgeting cycles are a lesser matter, to be decided after answering this seemingly unanswerable question.

I have used Armed Forces Guide to Personal Financial Planning 3rd. Edt. as an invaluble tool. I like it's easy to understand explainations and examples. Nearly any financial questions I had from insurance to investing and estate planning were covered. It also served as a great spring board to help my independent research. Unfortunately, being published in 1994, some material is out of date, with new tax codes in 1997 and the Roth IRA in 1998 not being covered.

I listened to the 2003 recording from Recorded books of the 2001 book by Silver Lining (the same people that published this for "Barnes and Noble Basics."

Unless newer versions have changed substantially I would have to say watch out. The Solid information is solid for the time such as dollar figures, phone numbers, and webs site addresses. You will recoup your investment in these alone.

The advice however on saving, taxes, stocks, and rules, is of an old era. It is sort of like reading a medical book that tells you to put butter on a burn instead of ice.

One assumption that may bit you is saving in a 401K. She makes the assumption that you can keep your money in until you are in a lower tax bracket. She does not take into consideration that at the time of this review we are being taxes at a much lowered percentage in general then we will be in the future. She acts like placing your money in stock will make money in the long run with out taking in the fact that the percentage it earns nowadays is a fraction of what it used to and if you lose 50% value that you have to make 100% on your money just to break even.

I have to give her credit for giving out more useful advice that some of the misleading item like suggesting looking into "whole life insurance" She even points out that they will make a bundle off you. On 401K she keeps saying you have to wait to 59.5 years to take it out. Then all of a sudden says 55 and separated from service. So the information goes back and forth.

Final analysis the book gives you a place to start and food for thought. Just do not believe any of the details.

This is a nice collection of Broadway songs. Buyer needs to be aware that this is a small paperback.

I first ran across this book in a reference in one of Martin Gardiner's books, and ordered it knowing little about it.

Augustus de Morgan was an English mathematician who lived from 1806-1871. He uses the term "paradox" to mean a person who has views or theories contrary to the established system, in a variety of fields, including mathematics, the sciences in general, religion, politics, etc.

This book is a single paperback book containing both Volumes 1 and 2. This was originally published as two volumes in 1915. However, the material all dates from the 1860's and earlier, and Volume 1 was apparently published in that time.

This book is about people as revealed in their books and letters. In most or all cases, these were books or pamphlets or letters which were in de Morgan's collection. They are taken in chronological order, meaning the subject will jump from geometry to atomic theory to religion and back again. Some are described in a few sentences or paragraphs, some in a page or two, and some run on for multiple pages.

One of the more common themes is the squaring of the circle or the related question of the calculation of pi. It might be assumed that de Morgan would go into detail about the methods used, the errors introduced, refutation of the false ideas, etc. But this is a book mainly about people, and so you'll find a discussion of this or that person, and generally what their ideas were, but in most cases, not a detailed analysis of their work or their errors.

A general understanding of mathematical and scientific principles is helpful when reading the work, although, as noted, it is not a book of math theorems. Fortunately, most of the French and Latin quotations have been translated by the editors.

The value of the work seems to me to be threefold. First, it reviews a great number of works and people, many of which were obscure in their own day, and many of which would be impossible to find today. Secondly, it serves as a window into the 19th century (and earlier) world of math and science, the ways of thinking, and the relationships between different groups. Thirdly, de Morgan does have occasional real gems of humor or wording in his work, and what might be otherwise very dry writing is made considerably more interesting by his sense of humor.