Travel Books

Ron Cruse is a fascinating writer full of amazing stories from all over the world. This book is a geat read not just for those in international business, but for anyone interested in travel, business, and cultural differnces. Lies, Bribes & Peril is full of short lessons on what Cruse has learned from doing business all over. Through cultural snapshots and vivid storytelling, Cruse paints pictures of places one would only dream of doing business in.

As U.S. entrepreneurs are increasingly looking to reach the global marketplace, Ron Cruse's Lies, Bribes, and Peril is a must-read for business-owners operating abroad. With humor and inspiring insights, Ron offers useful details on his struggles and successes in creating and building three businesses. Beyond your average business magazine's "how-to" or "best practices" articles, Ron paints vivid pictures on the do's and dont's of building and expanding a business globally. Even if your business is successful at home, learn from Ron's experiences before moving into the global marketplace!

Ron Cruse teaches the art of international business in a smart and creative way. He expresses the lessons he has learned in his travels in a clear and interesting way that teaches rather than tells. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to get ahead in international business, and frankly, ahead in any business.

The world may be getting flat, but the world of international business is full of twists, turns, and dangerous curves. Author Ron Cruse has navigated these treacherous pathways to success, and in this book takes his reader to places most of us never thought of going. In concise, vivid detail he pulls back the curtain to expose an underworld of hazard, intrigue and, ultimately, success earned the hard way. A great, entertaining read and an eye-opening experience.

Anyone who has done business overseas, especially in more exotic parts of the world, will instantly relate to this book. Ron Cruse is a natural story teller who has managed to capture just what it's like to work "in the mud." Calling on his decades of experience in some of the most difficult business environments imaginable, Ron offers valuable lessons for selecting business partners, sizing up the competition, and navigating a world where "lies, bribes, and peril" are indeed the order of the day, every day.

I've been camping in Maine for a few weeks... Mainers expect you to have one of these. They say "get out your DeLorme's" not "do you have a map?" Some people I've met have pointed me to the right page without looking at the back.

The details in this atlas are great! All of Maine's public reserve land and campground are clearly marked. If you are trying to do some real camping in some remote areas, get this map. This is a must if you are going to be doing anything outdoors in ME. I never thought I'd say a map is fun to read.

After reading reviews on Amazon, I bought this book with a couple of others for my sister-in-law who moved to Maine. Within a week of moving to Maine, they got lost and used this atlas to find their way! They really like it.

This is the bible of maps of Maine. And most, if not all, other states have a version available. The first time you use it will probably make the purchase worthwhile.

If you like maps and spend any time in Maine hiking, paddling, or traveling backroads, you must have this. It is fun to study and indispensable for exploring Maine.

The detailed maps are great but guys...no use looking for a road map of Maine, I mean the whole state as it doesn't exist: incredible! so do order a map in addition!!

I love Jim Corbett, I don't know if any author is better at transporting you back in time & making you feel like you were there. A warning though, once you start reading a Jim Corbett book you will need to find more of his books they are addicting. Also you will be hard pressed to find stories as exciting. This book wasn't as good as Maneater's of Kumaon. If you haven't read any of his books start with that one.

Corbett is a natural writer and combines his knowledge of the jungle with uncanny hunting skills to give us one of the best Indian adventures ever written.

Reading his books is not just following a maneater with a gun - it is a journey into the days of the British Raj where you will be transported into the remote jungles of Northern India, read about the simple people and their unsophisticated lifestyle. There are no villians, no suspicious characters lurking around and nobody to provide humour. You just have village folk trying to eke out a living which is sometimes interrupted by a feline with a taste for humans.

This particular book is about one leopard which terrorised a large region for many years and claimed about 420 lives. To understand what these people must have felt, it must be noted that in those days there were no high security fences, no guns or any kind of technology to track the leopard. Yet the people had to enter the forest to earn their daily bread. There is an unforgettable chapter in the book titled 'Terror' which starts something like this:

'During the day, people went about their lives as usual. Trade and commerce, transport and all other transactions went about their normal way. But as evening approached, there was a marked change in their behaviour. Pilgrims rushed towards their night shelters, businessmen closed shops abruptly and people scurried towards their homes for relative safety. No curfew was more strictly imposed. No orders to remain indoors were observed as faithfully.'

This is one of the books which shows that for writing adventure you don't need weapons or FBI investigations. All you need is a writer with a big heart who loves what he is doing and knows what he is talking about.

If you like adventure literature, you should find this piece really wonderful. I read it while I was alone at home for a week and I started to "feel" leopards all aronud the house at night. Very well writen, hard to stop reading.

This book is available from the Oxford University Press website: http://www.oup.com/

I just purchased a new copy for 12.49 British pounds including shipping to the USA which is just over $21 USD (December, 2003) I don't know why the new/used books advertised on Amazon by private sellers are so expensive.

If it's anything like Corbett's "Man-eaters of Kumaon" it is a masterpiece.

Another excellent book from the corbett library. Its true that fact can be stranger than fiction. And no where is it more evident than in the story of the maneater of rudraprayag.

Corbett is out to kill this very clever and wily old leopard in the second half of the 1920's. The leopard is believed to have made its debut as a man-killer following the influenze outbreak of 1918. Corbett hunts this killer over two years. In an intense battle of nerves between the best shikari that ever was and the wily leopardus, corbett's life hangs by a thread many times. On one dark stormy night, robbed of his defenses, he makes his way back to the village after a failed attempt in an experience that he terms his scariest. Another time the leopard snatches a goat right under his nose and gives him a run for his money! All and many illustrations of man's utter helplessness when a clever maneater turns against him.

In the end, corbett suceeds in putting a bullet where it truly belongs - in the maneater - to end its career. In true corbett fashion he has a soft spot for the old dead leopard, which gave him such a sporty fight. I am sure they both met again in the happy hunting grounds!

A wonderful book by a wonderful man.

Einstein was very close to find out what is time travel, but he failed to provide solid proof of time travel, and this author did it. By the way, author never claimed he is the only one who can time travel, but he could be the only one who has unlimited authorities and abilities of time traveling. One of the reviewers mis-read this book. Best of this book, author is willing to share the secrets of time travel.
So, our generation and future generations are able to benefit from this book.

I bought the "Time Machine" from online aution (ebay), before this machine, I have no idea who is this author. Best part of it, the machine works, and it has mutiple functions like the remote viewing, third eye and time travels. I want to thank this author who invented this time machine. It helps me a lot in my personal life and my career. The author is geniune.

I am certain he has had these experiences, as many people can astral project, time travel, etc.

For having so much truth, he is very ignorant to the fact that MANY people time travel.

I think the funniest quote was something along the lines of, "Perhaps I am the only human who can do this?"

I also suspect he wrote half of his own reviews. Spend more time making your sentence structure understandable and less time writing reviews for yourself. :)

This is my favorite book, and most popular book among our friends. It is cool and out of this world. And this is the only way time travel is possible.

The books flow so easily and have such a unique style that even the biggest of disbelievers in Time Travel, or any paranormal ability, will really enjoy this book. I have read the three throughout the exams and because of their sheer power they tore me from all the work I should have been doing! I had to force myself to not open this book again and again.

Get this book, before it is out of print, then it will be great human lost.

During my two big trips through the South Pacific, I always had one of David Stanley's guidebooks in my backpack. Stanley has been writing guidebooks to these islands for almost 25 years. Like his other Pacific guides, this fifth edition of Tahiti Handbook (which includes the whole of French Polynesia, the Cook Islands and Easter Island) is completely packed with information for the traveller.

Tips for travellers
While planning, Tahiti Handbook will help you find out which islands will be more interesting, easier or cheaper to visit. Stanley gives a good idea of what to expect in the islands, while you can still have a great adventure and discover things on your own.
In the Pacific, this guide will save you money and trouble. Following Stanley's advice to sleep at Tahiti's airport when arriving at night, to wait for the early morning bus instead of taking a taxi to your hotel, will already save you the cost of the book. Accommodations of all categories are described, often including critical commentary. The same applies for restaurants and organized activities. Stanley identifies with any kind of traveller. He answers almost any possible question to arise on other travel matters.

Incognito
I haven't used this edition of Tahiti Handbook in the field yet, so I can't say much about the accuracy of the travel information inside. However, during my trips through the islands, Stanley's information usually proved reasonably up-to-date. You can never expect everything to be correct, Stanley admits that. For every new edition of his guides, he makes a research trip to check the places listed in his book. On these trips Stanley arrives unannounced and tries to identify himself as little as possible. This way he is better able to experience a place like any other traveller. For this fifth edition of Tahiti Handbook, the Marquesas and Easter Island were visited in addition to more regular places. It would be nice to know what islands were exactly visited. If you feel some information is incorrect or missing from Stanley's guide, you can write him and he will seriously look at your comments.

Lively and critically
The chapters on history, people and places and the references in Tahiti Handbook are an excellent starting point to learn more about Eastern Polynesia. In my opinion, some more attention could have been given to the language section: an extension of the Tahitian and French section and adding Cook Islands Maori, Spanish and Rapanui.
The biggest problem with this book, as with Stanley's other guides to the Pacific, is that you'll want to go to almost every island he so lively introduces. With every new edition, Stanley not only updates travel information, he also perfects his writings. Stanley won't bore you. It's obvious he loves the islands. Still, he does so without writing over-positive about it. Stanley will tell you about the French nuclear testing at Moruroa and Papeete traffic jams. As he puts it on page 3: `Through this book we've tried to show you the best of the region without ignoring the worst. Paradise it may not be, but it's still a remarkable part of our planet.'

Three in one
Since the previous edition of Tahiti Handbook, the Cook Islands and Easter Island are also included, without making the guide too thick or expensive. The only I only place I miss in Tahiti Handbook is Pitcairn. Since it lies between French Polynesia and Easter Island, you would expect it to be included. It does receive more visitors than islands like Puka Puka or Maiao these days. For information about Pitcairn, you need to get Stanley's South Pacific Handbook.

Maps and photographs
You can find 56 maps in Tahiti Handbook, including ones of more remote islands. Of the main islands; there are detailed maps of towns to show accommodations, restaurants, offices and more. The atolls of the Tuamotu Archipelago are a bit underrepresented. But since these are mostly thin necklaces of land, this is not really important. In general the maps in Tahiti Handbook are fine. Only the coloured map and the index map at the beginning of the book could be better: the lagoons of the coral atolls have all been coloured in like land.
There are not many photographs in Tahiti Handbook: two coloured ones at the beginning of the book and a handful of black and white ones throughout the book. Without doubt this helps to keep the price of the book down. Also, you don't really need photographs here: Stanley's writing will bring Polynesia to life for you.

Take it!
Despite some small critical notes, I still give Tahiti Handbook five stars. There is nothing to match this guidebook. Take it when you go to French Polynesia, the Cook Islands and/or Easter Island no matter what your budget or style of travelling is.

Comparing this guide with other guides for Tahiti, it's just great!!.. It's far more accurate then the others, but those others it's often plain bad.

Most guides are correct about weather, currency, number of inhabittants etc. But when it comes to accomendations, guiding companies etc. it's a completely different story.

I went to Nuku Hiva in the Marquesas Islands 3 years ago. I stayed at a pension which Stanely recomended. The pension was a joke and the owner was the sleaziest guy I come across my 5 weeks in the South Pacific.

I asked Stanley after the trip if he had been at the pension which was not the case. This pension is still recommended in the last edition.

Lucky for Stanley that very few tourists travel to Nuku Hiva..

It's just incredibil, that's not possible to trust the correctnes of infor- mation from a guy who has been travelling in the South Pacific for 20-30 years.

I will use Stanley's guide this year too, but only as a basic tool. Getting an honest and accurate answer, I use the web-forums.

An excellent guide to the islands of French Polynesia. We used it during the planning stages to pick our resorts and research the activities we might be interested in in Tahiti, Moorea and Bora Bora. Each day we were there, the book helped us plan our activities and learn more about the islands and what they had to offer. The island and Papeete city maps were of great use finding our way around. The book covers all islands of French Polynesia and the Cook Islands. I enjoyed reading about all the others we didn't visit. Will definitely take this our next trip down. Highly recommended.

David Stanley has a wealth of personal knowledge of the South Pacific, and it shows. This comprehensive guide to French Polynesia, Rapanui, and Cook Islands is a must for anyone planning to travel to these exotic tropical paradises. Covering everything from history to present day conditions, from the practicalities of getting there to getting around, he tells it like it is. No matter your preffered travelling style, there is a wealth of realistic information to please everyone, from backpackers to luxury seekers alike. You will find this book invaluable; don't leave home without it.

As a producer researching filming locations throughout the Pacific Basin, I have found David Stanley's Moon Handbooks guide to Tahiti and the Cook Islands to be of tremendous value. Having travelled extensively throughout the world, I've often had trouble finding guides that are thorough and accurate. In Stanley's book, I've found just that. Rich with historic, cultural and practical information, along with numerous illustrations and maps, Stanley provides his readers with all of the necessary and critical information required in order to get the most out of a travel experience. To anyone planning a trip to this region, I would highly recommend this book.

This cookbook is wonderful, I went onto Amazon looking for an Italian cookbook and found this one. It has everything I was looking for, every Italian recipe that I needed and more. Photographs are great and put you right in the old Italian setting. Love this item.

I have tried numerous recipes since buying this book and every one of them was well received. I am my worse critic but I too know a good dish when I taste one. Olga's fishcakes were delicious.

perfect, easy, real Italian. Recipes are no fail. When I lived in the North end in the 90's (pre nouveau) everything tasted this good. But be careful, the Pignoli cookie recipe calls for 1 pound of pine nuts, (thats like $25!) You only really need 5 oz or so. Must be a misprint.

I love this cookbook. The recipes are excellent--the book is worth the value for the gnocchi recipe alone--just like mama's.

I know that Italian American cooking is out of style, but it still puts a smile on my families face. My brothers, our wives and children rave when I cook Ma's food. But I have a secret, I don't cook Ma's food. She was unfortunately, gone before I got her recipes. I cook Marguerite's food. I bought this book in the late 80's and it fell apart from love. This book will bring back memories or make them, five stars.

Once Upon A Curse is a book that every book lover should read (after you've read The Frog Princess and Dragon's Breath of course)... It has time travel, fairys, dragons, harpies, and other magical creatures too. Captivating with kind and snotty ancestors that Princess Emma meets when she's trying to solve the family curse's mysteries... along with Eadric, Lil, and some magic she's bound for a journey no one's gone on before!

We bought the Frog Princess from a school bookfair. I've been reading it to my 8 year old daughter. We both enjoyed the book so much, I bought the next two in the series on Amazon. These are wonderfully funny, engaging stories. This is a children's auther I would highly recommend.

Ilove the romance in this book.Emma and Eadric
are very funny characters.I love the magic in this book.
I hope to keep reading the series!

This book is just one of the wonderful books in this series. An absolute family treasure and fun for the whole family.

This was a fun book that has been passed around in family. I read it first and then passed it to my 13 yr. old daughter who then passed it to my 10 yr. old daughter. We've all laughed with delight at some of the exploits our "heroes" manage to involve themselves in. A must read! Grab the whole series while you're at it!

This table book provides both beautiful photos of the Earth, as well as the context of a story and a timeline. Combining images taken from various space explorations, it gives you a real sense of both the beauty and details of our planet, and also a sense of the experience of an astronaut.

Awesome pictures taken form high up in the sky. One can find unique views that are beyond imagination. Also included necessary information regarding NASA expeditions.

Shuttle astronaut Jay Apt, together with scientists Michael Helfert and Justin Wilkinson, has put together a wonderful book of photographs under the auspices of National Geographic, Orbit. These are all photographs taken by astronauts from the space shuttle while in orbit (with a few exceptions, historically significant photographs from moon circlings and early trips into space). Photography, interestingly enough, is never really scheduled as a shuttle activity, but rather done 'in between' the other assignments. The photographs included in this book do not come from special 'space' cameras, but rather from regular hand-held, off-the-shelf cameras that astronauts took with them.

The shuttle offers a unique platform for photography, to say the least. It has 11 different windows, and as the shuttle orbits in what one might consider an upside-down position, the windows and cargo-bay with doors open are almost always facing the earth. Astronauts take lots of film with them, and record many phenomena. This book is divided geographically, by earth region: Africa, Europe and the Middle East, Asia, the Pacific, Middle and South America, and North America. There is also a special section on the Aurora, with dazzling photographs of things that look right out of Star Trek!

The images include daytime and nighttime views, calm views and stormy views. One can see hurricanes and cyclones from high above, stretching their entire lengths across great portions of the globe. One can see the difference lighting makes in an urban area at night, the way terrain and human-engineering connect, and how much of the world seems to remain unspoilt when viewed from a distance of even a few hundred miles away.

This is a remarkable book, full of glorious photographs of the 'home world', a great coffee-table book, a great gift, and a great guide of inspiration for younger readers who might be interested in science, geography, or even becoming an astronaut.

Truely a magnificent piece of work to wiew the wonder of God's creation leaves you in awe of the beauty of the Earth. I pick it up regularly, for maximum enjoyment choose times where you are not rushed so you can drink in the superb pictures. A book no household can afford to be without.

Astronaut Jay Apt, with the help of geographer Justin Wilkinson and climatologist Michael Helfert, has assembled a book full of pictures of Earth taken from orbit. These photographs were chosen from over a 145,000 that are available from the NASA photographic library and focus on many different aspects of our planet's geology and climate. The large coffee table style format and the high quality of the reproductions allows this book bring out the stunning features of our home and is welcome addition to anyone who is interested in space photography, especially since most of the book is photographs and very little text.

The book is divided into sections covering each continent, the Pacific Ocean and the aurora. To show the range of Earth's geology and climate, each section highlights the major geological features found in each region and if appropriate mankind's influence. To further emphasis to geological diversity of the planet, occasional surface photographs that correspond to an orbital photograph are also included. For example, in the section on Africa, there are photos of the Nile, Nile cities, the Sahara desert, various coastline features and cloud formations. The only portions of the Earth not covered are the North and South Poles, since the shuttle does not fly over these regions. There is also one extremely interesting two page map spread which shows the location of each one of the 268,000 photographs taken by the astronauts.

This book is one of my favorite space photography books and I look at it often and each time that I do I always notice something different. This is a great book and well worth the price.

I've read this book and it is absolutely wonderful. Great story line, believable characters, a very enjoyable read. Once you start to read it, you will not want to put it down because you will want to know what is going to happen next to each of the characters.

The Pale Surface of Things was a good read. Other reviewers tell the plot, I simply wanted to point out a couple of things to the reader- first, the author clearly understands the cultures she is writing about, and has done an excellent job of bringing this to the reader. Second, a number of the characters are skillfully brought full circle through personal crisis, paralleling events in the story.

You can't fake knowing the scent of the air, the sound of the forest, the taste of the foods, or the presence of culture, and this all came through quite well in the book.

I recommend it. I read it in Malta, relaxing by the Mediteranean, and it seemed a natural fit, nothing stilted or fake about this book.

Regarding the characters, one of the main characters not from Crete is shot by another, a local. the remark is made "Why would he shoot him? He's not even Greek!" and this is about as sharp a reflection of the culture as you can get, a true understanding of island thinking.

Take the time to read this.

This book grew on me, and I continue to have a sense of well-being after finishing it. I'm not sure how to characterize this book except to say that each time it seems to be fairly predictable it steps aside from the path, just enough to satisfy without being hokey.

It's set on Crete in current times and follows several characters who, of course, eventually intertwine and affect each other. Oh, by the way, drop your expectation of archaeology, it's tangential. The pace is good and the tale isn't maudlin or sappy. Mostly it's about values, the choices we make, and the consequences (no it doesn't preach at all) set in a pretty good story. Probably a good book group book.

The Pale Surface of Things reads like a tapestry of textures weaving emotional, spiritual, cultural, and familial threads into an engrossing glimpse of life in a traditional Cretan village. Bennett's tale encompasses the dichotomies of life: human frailty and resilience, belonging and alienation, forgiveness and redemption, shame and courage. A fast paced novel that will transport you into the lives of unforgettable characters and a cherished ancient landscape.

Nicholas Zaferatos, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Urban Planning.
Huxley College of the Environment, Western Washington University.

What a fun read! Having visited Crete twice, it was fun to imagine the this story unfolding as it did. The author created terrific characters with interesting backgrounds and many subplots with lots of twists and turns.

David Downie's recent memoire on Paris is a diminutive delight, a series of "thought prose" on different and unusual aspects of La Ville Lumière. There are countless books following a similar approach, but Downie's stands out due to the unusual information and presentation of somewhat obscure and arcane information that he has collected over the decades in which he has lived near the Place des Vosges in the Marais district of Paris. The result is an insider's point of view of the city that is quite unlike other tourist books, and perhaps implies that those who might most greatly enjoy the book are those who have actually visited and explored the city to some extent. Without having experienced the city itself first hand, the information presented here is a bit decontextualized and a little abstract.

For those who have visited the city and even perhaps stayed or lived there for any length of time, Downie's book opens up a world of insights that is often hidden from common view. This makes it now possible to explain why Downie has selected the name, "Paris, Paris" for the text, where the second "Paris" is written in italics. Downie explains that the meaning of this structure indicates that there are two simultaneous, yet nevertheless distinct, "Parises," the first being the "Paris" that the typical English-speaking, non-French national sees and experiences, and the second (the "Paris" in italics) is the one that native Parisians and Frenchmen know, a reality removed from the more cursory visitors of the city.

Downie chooses an interesting example drawn from the Paris metro system to illustrate the title's metaphor. For anyone who has used metro line 14, the fully automated and state-of-the-art Parisian metro line, the sound of the automatic station announcement will come to mind. As we approach Chatelet Station, for example, the system announces "Chatelet" in a springy, almost stylish manner. As the train begins braking and stops at the station, the automatic system again states "Chatelet," but in a much more terse, low-key manner. This interesting announcement technique that all riders of metro line 14 have doubtless noticed (whether consciously or unconsciously), serves as a gentle reminder that there are two Parises, and few people ever get to know them both.

The book is composed of a series of short, targeted essays on a wide variety of locations, personages, and historical events related to the city. Each section runs only six to eight pages, which is a perfect length not only to convey the topic, but also for targeted reading day after day. The writing style is clear and engaging, and as mentioned before, filled with tidbits of information about the city that anyone interested in Paris would enjoy learning. We get to read about such famous "Parisians" as Coco Chanel, the engineer who is in charge of nighttime lighting for all of Paris, and a host of others in addition to interesting historical aspects of the city itself.

An enjoyable book with a memorable set of stories, anecdotes, and "mysteries" of the city, "Paris, Paris" is a welcome addition to any Parisphile's library.

Thank you, David and Alison, for sharing your Paris with me. Soon I will have the pleasure of spending a month in Paris, and the joy of being able to introduce my 16-year-old grandson to the greatest-of-all-cities. Your book deepened my knowledge of Paris, and will allow me to share more of its history with my grandson. I will be taking your book along, reading it in Paris, and looking for all those pieces of the city that you so beautifully described. Again, merci!

Downie's essays offers a quirky sense of humor and a wonderful eye for the details behind the details that at once demystify Paris and add to her mystery. Although the book is not a guide per se, the essays make me want to follow Downie's trails. As such, the book would have been better served with an index and some neighborhood maps. After all, give us a few more clues.

This just couldn't get any better. It is full of interesting tidbits and numerous places to visit accompanied by stories of people and places you normally don't hear told. I couldn't put it down, and I have recommended it to several people.

A wonderfully ill-tempered, sentimental, and informed account of nooks and crannies in the most interesting of cities. If I could arrange it, I would introduce Downie to the venerable Guy Grangeret, a visite-conference guide to Paris who is nothing less than Downie's spiritual twin. Neither man's dicta are suitable for beginners: all that irony and allusion would be wasted. Both provide insights and make connections that enrich the experience as well as thinking of the seasoned visitor.