Specialty Travel Books

this has to be the best help for anyone taking a bunch of youth anywhere. it works even with some older age groups because it keeps you laughing (or at least smiling) yet thinking at the same time. no matter what pagr you turn to, you find an idea or a thought that gets you going. it's a keeper!

This is a highly intriguing story about a man who goes on many adventures to multiple different islands, each inhabited by a certian form of creature. The first island he arrives at has everything, except all of it is in miniture, including the people! on this island he is hailed as a powerful giant. This island is know as Lilliput. he escapes from Lilliput on a boat that washed up on the shore. The second island that he arrives on is populated by gigantic everything, trees,animals, people, and so forth. on this island he is captured and originnaly displayed for money and entertainment until he is bought by the queen. he escapes from this island in a miniture house that was made for him out of wood. this island was known as Brobdingnag. Once again, he journey to a distant island. this one is populated by people who are obsessed with music, math, and astromany. He leaves this island by way of a ship which takes him to Japan. His final voyage is to the land of the Houyhnhnms. This land is populated only by fully intelligent horses and creatures called Yahoos, which have many human aspects but have sharp claws and are somewhat violent. he takes his leave from this country with the help of the Houyhnhms, who aid him in making a canoe with a sail and paddle. That is a somewhat rough review of the main ideas of his journeys to multiple island on which he finds many strange things and learns multiple languages. I liked this book becauce of its sense of adventere and because of its many new, interesting ideas.

Our hero Gulliver and his wife could use some counseling. It seems that every time he plops down on the sofa with his better-half and children, Gulliver gets restless and needs to go have another adventure. (Did they have sofas back then? If not, how did people crash out in front of their TV sets?) And he lives in idyllic old England, go figure!

Each time he does this (gets the traveling jones) he hops aboard some ship, tantamount to suicide in those days, eats salted meat and spoiled porridge for a few weeks, months or years, (unless there is a Chili's or Olive Garden nearby along the way--but he always seems to forget his coupons,) generally shipwrecks and sooner or later encounters some bizarre form of intelligent life in whatever fairyland he has found for himself this time, in whatever chapter of the book he happens to be sojourning in at this particular intersection of the time-space continuum.

Usually he is held captive, and then embosomed or exploited by whoever the freaks of nature are this time around, invariably escapes and by a series of miracles eventually finds his way home again, only to discover the same boring wife and children at the hearth waiting patiently despite the years that have passed without so much as a text message.

Along the way we are treated to Swift's amazing writing, great humor, wit and stellar imagination. Highly recommended, but it takes a bit of work to get through the whole thing.

This is an excellent book, no doubt about it. However, the edition is not so good. My copy, which is several years old, has yellowed considerably, and the print is small, so it does not make a very comfortable read.

Europe in the 17th and 18th century was much like Latin America in the 20th century, a place where direct criticisms of those in power can be lethal, if not fatal. As a result, those with opinions to voice often do so by writing tales of fiction that parallel events and characters in the real world. Some of these tales have gone on to become great works in Western Literature. One example is this children's classic by Jonathan Swift; Gulliver's Travels. Set in fictional places and filled with fictional characters, this book tells the story of Gulliver, a ship's surgeon who experiences adventures beyond anyone's belief. By chance and accident, he is transported from one place to another, and at each point, he encounters a society that at first, is utterly different from his own. But upon closer inspection, the characteristics of each place are exaggerations of actual circumstances found in actual societies. In each place, he also describes his own world to the locals, who in turn are amazed, astounded, and sometimes disgusted by what they hear.

One example is when Gulliver arrives on the land of the Houyhnhnms, and the Yahoos they tolerate in their midst. The Yahoos are dirty, greedy, sedentary, and spend their time squabbling amongst themselves and digging along riverbanks for shiny stones. The Houyhnhnms on the other hand, are clean, upright, and roam free through the countryside. Such a story reminds one of the dichotomy between white settlers and Native Americans in North America. The latter roamed free throughout the countryside, and were known to bath themselves quite often. The former, however, rarely bathed, often fought amongst themselves, and spent a lot of time and effort digging for shiny stones that many of the natives found useless.

Another example is the war between the Lilliputs and the Blefuscu. This war, as the King of Lilliput tells Gulliver, has been going on so long that nobody remembers how it started, who started it, or what they are fighting for. This sounds quite similar to the never-ending wars between France and England throughout the 2nd millenia AD. And so the parallels and allusions go.

All told, this is one of the great works of English literature. The book combines sharp wit, irony, adventure, high drama, and some action into a great story of learning new things, meeeting new people, and coming to understand yourself better in the process.

Gulliver's Travels is not a children's fantasy written by an avuncular Englishman. This book, instead, is a searing indictment of the human race written by a brilliant satirist and misanthrope. The Lilliput episode is most clearly inscribed in the public consciousness, perhaps because it is the least overtly damning of the human species. By the end of the book, however, when Gulliver is forced to leave the equine utopia of the Houyhnhnms, the utter perfidy of humanity is laid bare without compunction. (And it is still as true and applicable to today's societies as it was three-hundred years ago.) No one likes being criticized, especially when guilty of the offense, and Swift is unsparing in his condemnation of our collective culpability. (He makes provision for the goodness of the individual, though, such as the Portuguese ship's captain.) One of the ten best books I've ever read.

I began reading The New Yorker in college, back in the early `60s -- mostly for the cartoons, I admit, but it wasn't long before I discovered the often witty and always beautifully written essays of Calvin Trillin. As a food-lover, I especially enjoyed his culinary pieces, since collected in three volumes beginning with American Fried in 1974. The last, Third Helpings, appeared in 1983, so it's been along dry spell, but now he's back with a new series of adventures that will make you salivate. The chapter in which he tries to get his daughter to promise she'll move back to New York from San Francisco if he can find a dependable source of pumpernickel bagels makes him sound Manhattan-centric, but he also writes a paean to boudin (which, even living in south Louisiana, I confess I don't care for at all), and another to the posole found in Taos (which I like very much). And there's a chapter on nutria sauce piquante that's a real hoot (think sheep-sized rodents). And there's San Francisco burritos, and Casamento's oyster loaf, and fried fish in Barbados, and pimientos in Galicia, and a number of other foodstuffs to be considered. This is a great book to read when you're sitting in the staff room at work, munching mindlessly on a homemade tuna sandwich and a bag of Fritos.

The United States is a nation covering more than 3.5 million square miles, measuring nearly 2,800 miles from Battery Park in Manhattan to the Santa Monica Pier just west of Los Angeles. According to current Census Bureau figures, more than 290 million people live in the U.S., most of whom don't have to trace their roots back too far to find relatives who arrived on American soil from elsewhere. As a nation we are a diverse and interesting bunch. But if you look at what we eat, it is apparent that the great melting pot has been simmering for perhaps too long and is now yielding an increasingly bland porridge. From sea to shining sea, a nation populated by people from all points of the globe has become a gigantic, generic food court that threatens to erase the vast national cornucopia of ethnic eats and local treats. It's a creeping culinary crime that, if left unchecked, may one day turn the entire planet into an Applebee's. But all is not lost.

FEEDING A YEN, the latest effort from the prolific and always entertaining Calvin Trillin, offers an escape for those who have grown tired of food that has suffered a spectrum of indignities, from gentrification to generification. Each of the fourteen chapters in FEEDING A YEN covers a different local specialty, from pumpernickel bagels in New York City, to pimientos de Padron (a dish made with tiny green peppers) in Galicia, Spain, to boudin (a kind of Cajun sausage) in New Iberia, Louisiana, to ceviche (a cold fish soup) in Ecuador --- and plenty more along the way.

If you're looking for a book on pricey eateries, find something else to read. FEEDING A YEN is about simple, honest food, often made from recipes that have been passed down for generations. In describing these various treats and his efforts to find them, Trillin exhibits a palpable glee, particularly when skewering some of the more pretentious aspects of the business of feeding people.

In a chapter on Napa Valley wines, Trillin plays on his own ignorance of the vintner's art as he investigates a test that reputedly proves that even the experts can't really tell a red from a white. Another chapter deals with the good-natured squabbles within a Web community that has emerged via chowhound.com, a Web site devoted to ferreting out great ethnic food in the neighborhoods of New York and Los Angeles.

If you're a fan of Anthony Bourdain's A Cook's Tour on the Food Network, you'll enjoy FEEDING A YEN. Trillin and Bourdain share a passion for the food purveyed in small shops and by street vendors. But Bourdain, who apparently will eat just about anything, has the more adventurous palette. The various treats Trillin describes are often exotic, but never involve anything that you'd keep as a pet or that might buzz around your porch light on a warm summer night. Trillin writes about good, simple food, food rooted to specific locations by tradition as much as by the availability of the necessary ingredients.

Technology has made the world a much smaller place. Mere hours stand between the cargo of fishing boats and the dinner table and, by virtue of the same technology, the idea of a growing season is rendered a moot point. You can get nearly anything you want, anytime you want it. But that abundance and convenience risk the very essence of the local specialty. If you've had the good fortune to travel in the U.S. you've surely noticed that, with the exception of geography and climate, the differences that existed between various points on the map are eroding. And the same thing is happening around the world (for a different take on that issue read William Gibson's PATTERN RECOGNITION). Food is a basic and visceral expression of local and regional culture. If that expression is lost, if people no longer seek out unique dishes like those so vividly described in FEEDING A YEN, then the creeping blandness that has already claimed so much of what makes the world interesting will have achieved another milestone in mediocrity. But if Calvin Trillin has his way, that sad and flavorless day will never arrive.

--- Reviewed by Bob Rhubart

I have a soft spot for food writers. Maybe it's because I enjoy a good meal, perhaps too much, but I think it's because I've found food writers to be charming in their obsession with food related minutiae. No one is more charming than Calvin Trillin whose "register of frustration and deprivation" leads him to travel the world seeking those foods that he can't live without. the result of this is Feeding a Yen. I can't put this book down. He's like an adventurous and kindly uncle. It's a treat.

One of the things I like about Trillin is that he is not a cook. There are no recipes in this book. Although I do enjoy reading food books by people who cook, it's nice to get the view from an unadulterated eater now and then.

Trillin uses this book to highlight foods that he can't get at home in Manhattan, and that is a list that is getting shorter all the time. In fact, you can get exotic foods almost anywhere now. And that is just why he has a hard time luring his daughters back to New York from the West Coast. They can get New York bagels and anything else in California.

I love Trillin's dry humor and skepticism. This is my first Calvin Trillin book (although I have enjoyed his magazine essays) and I'm looking forward to reading his past works.

I read this book on a recent trip to Los Angeles, where I regrettably realized that Nate and Al's in Beverly Hills had better whitefish salad than Murray's in NYC. When Calvin Trillin would visit his daughters in California, he used to take a dozen or two bagels with him from NYC, to tempt them back to the capital of authentic bialys and appetizing stores from the Southern California wastelands of sun dried tomato and bee pollen bagels. What can one make of a world where a London fish and chips salesman uses matza meal to batter coat his fish, San Francisco style burritos are sold in Manhattan, NY Bagels are in LA, and great Chinese food can be found in Paris? Calvin Trillin, in a series of essays ("Magic Bagel", "Grandfather Knows Best", "Chinatown, Chinatown", etc), takes the reader on a very funny and enlightening trip around the world, as he finds the best local foods. My faves were, he eats Chinese from Paris to Prague, he searches for the bagels of Hyman Perlmutter's Tanenbaum's bakery, and he explores the fish taco.

This has to be THE definitive guide to gay Mexico, or for that matter, gay guide to Mexico. For those who truely know this great country, the author tells it as
it is. You will not experience anything in Mexico that has not been well explained here: types, sexual self-imagimg. The hows and wheres. And when. The book also delivers the ambience of the country and its people. You'll read it from cover to cover. And read it again. And select parts, again and again. A must book
for all those armchair travelers out there, it is rich in personal experiences. Warning: this book does not recommend where
to stay or eat. It just tells you what you want to know about Mexico. Enjoy! I did and do.

Eduardo David has produced an excellent book describing gay culture in Mexico. In the sometimes-bisexual environment that is, Mexico Eduardo has clarified some of the mysteries of Mexican society. This book is well worth the investment if you really want to know the culture of gay Mexico. It describes all the secret spots such as movie houses and crusting areas. In addition, many more places of interest to the gay man. Purchase this book today if you REALLY want to know the true gay Mexico. Congratulations to Eduardo David on a well-written guide. Don Hopper, Gay Mexico Network-

If you haven't got the first Gay Mexico by this author it is well worth the money. If you do have the first one save your money.

These are great reference maps for generalized recreational activities. Not as detailed as a topo map, but still packed full of outstanding information. I have one for every state and I don't leave home with out them. An improvement over simple highway maps.

The map is beautiful and (reasonably) accurate, but its small scale limits its use for hiking. Many of the contours are so closely spaced, faint, or interrupted by text that they are nearly useless. The publishers tried to squeeze the entire national monument onto one map sheet, which makes for a good overview and planning map, but a poor hiking map.
Unfortunately, you have rather limited options, at least when it comes to paper maps: The USGS 7.5 minute topo sheets are great, but they don't show the trails, local hiking maps are hit and miss (some can be great). State-wide mapping software that lets you print customized hiking maps might be the way to go, but I haven't tried them yet.

This map is part of the Trails Illustrated series covering many national parks. These are all sturdy and convenient.

Your map choices are essentially this one, the National Park Service map, and USGS topos. The NPS map is fine if you're staying at Rock Harbor Lodge and doing light day activities from that base.

If you're backpacking, or doing long day hikes, the Trails Illustrated map is absolutely essential because the USGS topographic maps are outdated. For example, the topo shows a no-longer-existent East Feldtmann trail on the southwest part of the island.

The topo also shows inaccurately the trail that goes over White Oak Ridge in the same area. The Trails Illustrated map shows the trails correctly.

This map also shows (1) group and individual campsites and (2) distances between trail junctions that accord with the NPS signage. Both features make it useful for planning your trip.

I was looking for help getting my product sold locally, and this was no help. After all the money I have spent trying to get my product sold, I wish I had the money I spent on this book back.

Stephen Hall's book is a honest guide for aspiring food manufacturers who are new to the specialty food industry, and most importantly, who have limited funds to sustain a long-term marketing effort. Though he does discuss various important aspects of the industry as a whole, his emphasis is on marketing.

He uses real-world examples of entrepreneurs that have either succeeded or failed in bringing their product(s) to market and in some cases due to being under-capitalised or not being prepared to handle the demand for their products once they had become successful. Make no mistake, Mr. Hall in no way sugarcoats the process. In fact, in the chapter where he discusses start-up costs, he stresses the importance of an independent source of income to successfully start your business, especially for the first 3-5 years. But this a positive rather than a negative point, because it encourages you to be realistic and to prepare for success rather than set yourself up for failure.

His intention is to inform and he does so clearly by using flowcharts and explaining indepth the various aspects of the specialty food market. He covers important issues such as defining the best U.S. territories for your product; researching the markets; developing and positioning your product; government regulations (a list of the relevant agencies for each process of the business is provided); packaging, labeling, pricing, warehousing and shipping your product; principles for marketing success; promoting, publicizing and advertising; finding buyers; arranging deals; finding copackers, and much more.

There is a lot of valuable information to process and I found myself reading the book a second time (and most likely will do so a third time as a refresher). I highly recommend this book as a good foundation and to get you started in the right direction.

This is a good book, but not exactly what I was expecting. As a Small Business Consultant, I was asked to teach a class on marketing your food product for a local food incubator, which is beginning level. This is great if you want to have your mustard in a national chain, your tea or coffee on grocery store shelves, or the like. What I thought it would help with was entry level marketing to get your food into local stores, selling on the internet, and getting into a trade show. It did give guidance to higher levels of the same thing, and was very professionally done, just a bit above what I was expecting. If you already have an established product and do large scale production, this is a great book for you. For beginners, it doesn't really take it right out of the kitchen...its sort of a couple notches past that.

Excellent author and wonderful expertise though. Definitely a keeper for my personal library.

This book was recommended in a class at the local community college on starting a food business. There are
excellent examples of various business models and lots of referrals to other helpful web sites. If you have a
specialty food product you're making in your kitchen and you dream of selling it, this book is perfect.

My biggest questions are: What are the laws about the sale of food from the kitchen? Is a health inspection of the kitchen necessary? Where would I find this information for the state in which I live?

This book does not cover any of the information that I think is necessary. I enjoy preparing food and giving it away in pretty containers. I was hoping I could sell some of my gorgeous and delicious gifts with little overhead. According to the author, one should plan on laying out a rather large investment for this type of business.

FROM KITCHEN TO MARKET contains many details but omits the basic information required to get started.

This book certainly opened our eyes to all that's available out there. Very well done!

Very thorough and enlightening travel information. We're making plans for our next romantic adventure!

This book lists the obvious tropical resorts and lifestyle parties but is very thin in the drive to resorts and destinations with in the USA. I'd didn't think it was worth the money.

Travel guides get old fast, and the information is this guide was outdated 3 or 4 years ago. I don't want to knock this book...I would have recommended it in 2003, but for now you should save your money until a new version comes out. The best book in this genre for erotic vacations right now is The Hedonist: World Sex Guide - Single Male Erotic Vacations in Rio, Costa Rica, Thailand, Carribean and much more

We wanted to find unique and erotic "adult only" vacation spots to choose from without searching for endless hours on the internet. This awesome book puts it all together with all the information you need right at your fingertips. Well done! We highly recommend it!

this book feels like an outline of what the real book would/should be. I suppose it's a good primer on how to gather your thoughts, but shouldn't be confused with a guidance book on opening a gourmet shop.

This book is nothing more than a general guide to opening a shop.

I bought it because the title leads you to expect that it contains information specific to setting up a Specialty Gourmet Food Shop.

I already own general guides on setting up a shop, which are incidentally much better than this book.

Apart from a few token references to Specialty Gourmet Food, this book was no use to me. Don't let the title fool you.

[...]

"HOW TO OPEN A FINANCIALLY SUCCESSFUL RETAIL & GOURMET FOODS SHOP" by Sharon L. Fullen and Douglas R. Brown.

Starting your own business can be extremely scary, it doesn't matter what type of business it is. If you are interested in starting a specialty foods shop it can be even scarier because of the lack of competent information available. "How to Open a Financially Successful Specialty retail & gourmet foods shop" is one of the most comprehensive books of its kind in the market place.

The authors are great at introducing the reader to all aspects of starting their own shop. The book is written in an easy to understand conversational tone. With sections specifically on goal setting this book is geared toward the new entrepreneur that does not have past business start up experience.

Read this book before going even considering opening a specialty retail or gourmet foods shop. Many aspects of operating a specialty business can be overlooking in the heat of your ambitions. This book will guide you in identifying all the major areas of concern before you put up all your money and invest months of your time.

The book also comes with a CD that contains pre-written documents that will be very useful in starting and operating your business. This book is highly recommended to anyone who wants to know more about the gourmet foods industry and of course to people interested in starting their own specialty foods shop.

The book begins with an overview of what a gourmet shop consists of and how much energy is needed in order to successfully run one. This book gives a complete picture of everything that is needed to run a successful gourmet store. It is comprehensive enough for someone who has never opened a business before to easily start a shop.

It goes into great details of the initial costs and strategies that will be needed at start up. There is even a special section on franchising and writing a business plan. Other areas include taxes, laws, licenses, and insurances that will be needed. There are also skillfully crafted chapters which focus two main areas employee relations and customers including marketing and public relations.

There are chapters that center on the equipment that may be needed and the types of product that can be used in the store. A CD-ROM completes the book, with many forms that can help anyone who goes into business. There are even sections that deal with cash flow and financial management as well as purchasing.

This book offers a comprehensive overview on many of how to start a Specialty Retail business and with the step by step process, anyone can be successful.

"How to Open a Financially Successful Specialty Retail and Gourmet Foods Shop" is a great read for anyone looking to own their own specialty or niche store. From selling only jam to selling complex kitchen gadgets, this book is great for anyone looking to delve into any niche market.

The authors take readers through a number of get ready steps. They include, among other things, picking location, deciding what merchandise to carry, identifying the target audience, writing a business plan, filing the loan application, and getting the necessities (such as company name, licenses, insurance, etc.).

I love that the book details every thing I would need to know about opening a specialty business. It even discusses decorating tips, hiring a staff, marketing the business, and creating a press kit. Because the book covers so much, it tends to cover only the basics of all the topics. It does not go really in-depth on most items, so if you are looking for some exact how-to guide, this book probably is not for you.

The book also comes with a handy cd-rom that provides sample business plans and other worksheets that I found very helpful. You can easily take the business plan and modify it to suit your start-up business. In addition, there are a number of great resources listed within the pages of the book that any new business owner would find beneficial.

My husband and I are business people but have never opened a coffee shop....the book was great!

A great book for basic understanding of what it takes to start and run a successful coffee business.

I agree with most of the other reviewers. If I were opening a coffee cart or kiosk I'd find this book educational. As it is, it lacks details but does give good basic information. You can start here but "Become a coffee house owner" is far more detailed, with business plans, budgets, specific list of items needed (down to the grease trap), contacts, employees, probably health requirements etc. I did gain some knowledge from this book, but it won't be a point of referral in the future.

Let's imagine you are thinking about buying that espresso stand down beside the street corner near your home. "Hmmm....wonder if that is a goldmine waiting to be mined?"

If so, this book is an adequate first step in your research. It touches a wide range of topics with a scientific, by-the-numbers approach. Therein lies the fault.

You see, entrepreneurship is not a science. It is an art. So, too, is service and great coffee!

By all means, buy of read ESPRESSO! STARTING & RUNNING YOUR OWN SPECIALTY COFFEE BUSINESS first. The ESPRESSO BARTENDERS GUIDE TO ESPRESSO BARTENDING has to be the next book on your journey to making a living brewing great coffee.

Before you buy that espresso stand, though, get hold of RETAIL MANAGEMENT by Ron Hasty and learn why the location of that stand may, or may not, be in a good location for your target market! Bill Anderson.

This should be the title "Thinking about running a Coffee Business" I gave this 3 stars because it is very easy to read, straight to the point, does point out some warning signs.

If your already in the business then, forget it.

This fairly small volume arrived just before I visited Viet Nam for the first time, and added greatly to my enjoyment and understanding of this beautiful country, its people and culture. It is especially useful in assisting the gay visitor who is interested in linking up with Vietnamese guys, in both Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) and Hanoi. The volume is patterned after the style of the famous "Men of Thailand" guide.

Inevitably, as in all such guidebooks, some of the specifics, such as gay-friendly bars or cafes, are no longer accurate by the time the ink dries. Nevertheless, this has much valuable practical information, and is written from the perspective of a genuine friend of the Vietnamese.

If you are thinking about this for "gay" infomation, forget it. The locations and venues listed for Siagon were completely out of date. I looked for most and only one was still open. The Vietnamese men I met told me the others had all been closed for "quite some time".... The information on visas and immigration and customs were wrong, I got my visa in one day and picked it up in Vietnam at the airport with a $20 extra charge. No problems with customs, no need to have multiple photos etc etc. Had I not read this book I would have planned a much longer stay in this beautiful country. Other suggestions in the book, i.e. visit the US embassy were equally out of date - it was torn down years ago! [In] reference to using Utopia tours...I found the prices for their tours significantly higher than elsewhere available in Bangkok and much higher than those available in Vietnam, where I made mine to my great satisfaction. Lastly, the "update" page on the internet was never available and emails to Floating Lotus went unanswered. Buy the Lonely Planet and enjoy your trip.

If this book is still available, I hope there is a more recent edition than the one I bought back in 1999.

The book was useful about customs and lifestyle in Vietnam. However, if you plan to travel there, you will need other travel books as well. This only covers Hanoi and Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City).

A lot of the bar information in the book is no longer accurate. Things have changed a lot since 1999. Sam Son's is no longer open. And, information about places in Ha Noi is no longer up to date.

I think your best option is to hit the Internet prior to your visit and go to online chat places such as [...] and vietfun.com to meet guys in Vietnam in advance of your visit.

This book constantly compares itself to MEN OF THAILAND, but it is a pale shadow of that outstanding work. Thompson's book is long on fantasy accounts of his amorous adventures and short on information about gay sites - even being coy and saying he can't reveal some because friends want to keep the secrets to themselves! His attempts to introduce Vietnamese culture are weak at best, with none of the finesse of MoT. Internet sites give far more information and with greater clarity. Bummer!

I sense disappointment among some of my fellow reviewers. My guess is that none of them have ever been to Viet Nam. What they seem to overlook are the strong points of this book: The desire filled sensitivity which the author uses in dealing with the subject. This should ideally rub off on the caring reader. Then there are the little lessons that are meant to prepare us for our visit ("The Fragile Vietnamese Heart"). The travel diary pages are another form of teaching us valuable lessons. It is important to look deeper here and not just expect a listing of all the latest happening places. With things changing so fast (raids still happen here), no print guide can ever claim to be up to date anyway. The Western view of a gay subculture doesn't (yet?) exist in Viet Nam. This country and her people deserve the insightful teachings that are contained in this book.