Budget Books

I do not like marking down books, but I feel that I have to warn people here. The book is thin, written in large script, doesn't make for very fascinating reading (if there really was a holiday behind its making, it must have been a very dull one) and I had read all that was of use to me in 15 Minutes ! Sorry.

I have not seen any editions prior to 2003, but I have read Katie Wood's "Europe By Train - 2003" and was surprised to find a number of inaccuracies in the Eastern Europe section. Surprisingly, Katie Wood still refers to the country of Ukraine, as "The Ukraine", a term used in Tsarist and Soviet Russia to denote the subjugated state of Ukraine. The correct and the only way is to say "Ukraine", without the article. Russian terminology is used throughout the Ukraine section, although the Ukrainian language is used to indicate the names of places in parenthesis. We still see "Kiev" rather than the correct "Kyiv", and "Lvov" rather than "Lviv". In her effort to impress her readers with her imagined fluency of a foreign language, Katie Wood and her research staff have even used the wrong name for "Lvov".
Her comments on just how close the Russian and Ukrainian languages are - that only two silly letters separate one from the other, for goodness sake, is quite ridiculous and completely false. In reality, a Russian speaker will usually not understand the Ukrainian language at all. On the other hand, a Ukrainian will understand the Russian language, especially if he chooses to. On the whole, Europe By Train - 2003 is somewhat inaccurate and it's not recommended. Luckily, there are numerous other rail guides available.

In my naivety, I believed the blurb on the front of this book, "every budget" and "off the beaten path"- but when I received it I learned that this obviously refers to every budget upper middle class or better, and off the beaten path only because only about 5 people can afford to eat in restaurants where the main course is $40. Not only do I feel excluded as a social worker and a budget traveler- but the highlights on things to do were practically absent- the section on Burlington, VT is only 3 pages long, with only 9 or 10 hotel and restaurants combined listed! Hello- I've never been there and I know there's a lot more going on. That's one other thing- I personally dislike having dining/lodging listings combined- I mean, they're certainly not the same thing, and in my world food always deserves it's own listing. So, if you're a well to do bunch who's looking to spend some money and not do much else, this is the book for you. Enjoy!

This is a very disappointing guide book. Supposedly the information in this 2003 edition is up-to-date, but I was finding information that is 3 to 4 years out of date. Hotel price ranges in particular are outdated.

In addition to the outdated information, a big failure of this guide book is the lack of photos. There are no photos inside to make a person interested in visiting the country. Photos showing the bustling markets, beautiful beaches, historical temples make a person want to see those places in person much more than the dry text descriptions.

One positive thing about the guide is information on excursions to Angkor Wat in Cambodia. Saves one from buying an entire guide on Cambodia just to learn about Angkor Wat.

Recommend you skip this guide and go for either Rough Guide or Lonely Planet.

I would not recommend this book for "power tuning" tips. The book does a better job of explaining how the stock Mini components work. If you already know about Minis or have other books on Minis then you probably do not need this one. I was looking for such information as which brakes are best for my application, or which carb is best for performance and which is best for fuel economy. The book does tell a little bit about this kind of info, just not to the extent I was looking for. It did tell a bit about what is the best exhaust system to use, so that made me happy. I would suggest not paying too much for the book. Remember, this is just my opinion. You may be looking for different info than I. Thanks.

This is not a book - but rather a collection of articles - with no apparent order. Esoteric, academic, and dry.

Is there any books on hostels in Europe that are not out of print

This book gets off to a poor start. "Feeding Your Kids" is the opening chapter title and the first line goes like this: "I have a confession to make". From there she describes her first initial struggle with coupons. She states that "true-blue" coupon clippers will "gasp" (apparently in horror) at her story about her struggle. My first reaction was not to gasp, but to simply put the book down without reading it. While coupons can be helpful, I live in a rural area, with no double coupon stores. A lot of coupons are for unhealthy processed foods. Who wants to generate that much garbage? I fast read the coupon part, and somewhat enjoyed the rest of the book. Most of the book are tips and some of them are pretty obvious. In chapter 1, (food) some VERY general tips are offered. Bulk buy items like chips and package them yourself for lunches. Add club sods to orange juice to make it stretch. Huh? Save your bacon fat. Substitute margarine for butter. Don't buy veal. I'm serious. This is what is here, along with a few other hints. Most of it is simply not helpful. Or even misleading. Chips are hardly ever a good buy no matter what. And club soda? To add to juice? Gallager suggest limiting the kids selections at fast food places. Other chapters include info on clothing, education, dental care and health, (dental care is a quickie paragraph on making it easie for the kiddies to brush and floss), entertaining, parties etc. All of the ideas are obvious to the point of insulting.

A good book on budgeting will include a pep talk(s) on attitude. You'll never succeed in staying within a budget until you get into a self suffiency & GOAL oriented frame of mind. This includes setting actual dollar figures that your "goal directed budget" will allow. And coming up with alternatives for what you just cut out. Healthy, balanced alternatives. It IS possible to raise kids on a budget, enjoy the niceties of life, and keep all your marbles so to speak. This book might give you a tip or two, but doesn't cut it overall. Check out authors: Toohey, Dacyczyn, McCoy, Barfield, Kellam, Ricks, Logsdon, Emery, and Kay (Ellie Kay has a great website if your're really into the coupon thing). I've never run across a book that had all the answers. But these authors offer different ideas in different ways. It's best to read several books to gain prospective and to stay on the right track.

The cover of any book has to say something about what's inside. Just like the picture on a chocolate box, it is supposed to entice people towards the content. This book has a blurred image of a sailing ship on the cover and blurred photographs do not cut it! So, having been put off from even picking up the book, I finally got around to looking inside.

This book claims to be about the sailing ship as a trading vessel. Beginning with the early days when they were first used as transports, we find sections on; The Mediterranean & Baltic, the development of navigation, exploitation of the Indies, American marine development, ocean sailing, coastal traffic and hazards at sea. On each section there are some stunning photographs and other pictures but sadly I learned very little because, in no time at all, I had read this book from end to end. How ironic that a book with a blurred image on the cover should be so overwhelmed with decent images inside. Unfortunately, this left little room for that actual text.

In summary, too much of the story of the sailing ship is missing from this one.

NM

A very good article, yet you will be dissapointed because there's not way to see the graphics, so the value of the text decreased (since a lot of reference in it are linked to the graphic). If you are familiar with the topic, you will find it useful, otherwise you will find yourself upset because of the lack of figures.