Ford Books

Practical ideas to utilize in therapy make working with children and adolescents so much easier for therapists who are uncertain how to work effectively with young people. This book helps therapists understand children's needs within a variety of family circumstances and to work effectively with parents to facilitate their parenting skills. Chock full of useful ideas; a wonderful resource! Nancy Nickell

THE BOOK WAS VERY INFORMATIVE AND SEVERAL RESOURCES THAT I WAS ABLE TO USE IMMEDIATELY. IT'S WORTH THE MONEY.

This is a wonderful resource for children's mental health practitioners. It includes art and play techniques on a wide variety of treatment issues. Highly recommended.

This great book is for the therapist working with children and adolescents, where the therapist can use the material as homework, handouts and activities in therapy. The editors, Catherine Ford Sori, professor of psychology and counseling at Governors State University, Illinois and Lorna L Hecker, professor of marriage and family therapy at Purdue University in Indiana, have together with 36 professionals compiled a very important tool for the therapist.
It is divided into eight sections: childrenýs feelings, play in therapy, specific childhood problems, illenes, trauma and bereavement, adolescents, interventions, family and parent education with a total of 46 chapters.
This is a very resourceful book with plenty of ideas, plans and suggestions for use in the encounter with children, adolescents and their families......

Great, user-friendly treatment planner with lots of different activities for both children/adolescents and their families. Great explanations for each topic.

This book is a comprehensive look at the anatomy of a guitar. It does not give enough details to use as a guide to building your own guitar. The color pictures are limited to 12 pages inside center of the book. The rest of the pictures are black and white. There is plenty of discussion of the dreadnaught style, but after reading everything I still didn't have a good idea how it differed from the standard guitar. This book's strong point is the history discussion. If you are looking to build a guitar I recommend "Classical Guitar Making: A Modern Approach to Traditional Design" by John S. Bogdanovich.

There isn't much that the authors don't cover about what goes into a guitar, except for the actual methods of construction (for which you have to go to the Kinkead or Cumpiano books). In this book, you'll learn more than you'll ever need to know about woods, strings, and microphones, and the basics of how to optimize the adjustable bits for your style of playing. The authors know their stuff cold, and it shows.

To get the sort of knowldege this book offers, you have two choices. You could hang around guitar shops for years and years talking with salesmen, customers, repair people, and performers, and learning from them what they consider important in a guitar. Or, if you have a real job, you could read this book instead.

I already have many books on the acoustic guitar, describing technical information, history or concentrating on just one brand.
This book is the most detailed technical book as meant for acoustic guitar owners so far. Each and every part of the guitar is described. Things like fretboard radius or different lacquer types, maintenance, storage, wood with all their aspects. Too many things to mention.

Even a specialist will find some new interesting info.

There are a few color photo's to brighten up the book. I would have preferred a bigger size book (the pages are a little small), but the text is very well written and a pleasure to read. A bigger size plus hard cover and a few more pictures would make it a ***** book for me.

For me, this has been one of the best books i've read in a long time.. It is hard for me to put down.. I have been interested in music as long as I can remember and have played guitar and been interested in the dynamics of sound structure as long.. I know alot of laymen things about the guitar but this book has broken down this incredible instrument and went through each part, step by step in easy to read and understand writing. I am now getting into the art of being a Luthier and this book is full of helpful ideas and terminology.

I can't wait to read more of John Ford's work. Bonk on the Head was a riveting read that succeeded in doing what all great literature should do......make one think!

Reviewed by Sondra Fowler for Reader Views (2/06)

John James Ford writes poetically, brutally, and yet almost lyrically, about the struggles of a young man searching for himself and his place in his family and the world. Herbert "Verbal" Kempt is the son of a military Colonel and his shell shocked wife. Verbal struggles to reconcile himself with a family that is fraught with eccentricity, dysfunction and trepidation.

After his wild yet lovable younger sister runs away, Verbal is left to float adrift with no true purpose in sight. He finds direction and unexpected confidence in the form of Reserve Military Service. Yet amidst all of the success Verbal can not seem to keep from sabotaging himself.

Much of this story is set at the Royal Military College of Canada. It was a very colorful depiction of life in a military setting. The situations and characters were beautifully and fully written. You felt that you were a fly on the wall through all the torments and achievements experienced by the cadets of November Flight.

While the outside world played a large role in the torment of Verbal Kempt the war inside his head was as challenging. He was a young man with much to learn, much to overcome and much to reconcile.

While some of the military and Canadian terminology was alien to me I found I lost nothing of the story. I feel that "Bonk on the Head" would be enjoyable to those interested in the military tales but equally enjoyable to those who prefer tales of the psyche. It was well written and a pleasure to read.

I'm no critic, but this read is well worth it. Take it from Jim Bartley of The Globe & Mail:

Freaks like us
By JIM BARTLEY
Saturday, August 20, 2005

You've heard of army brats. Gertie Kempt takes the figurative out of the brat. Throbbing along the back roads of the Ottawa Valley in her dad's muscle car, she's a brash and reckless mentor to her malleable younger brother, Herb.

In John-James Ford's assured, often disturbing debut -- a boot-camp bildungsroman -- Herb's journey toward a soldier's manhood is impelled largely by deep and ambivalent love for his rebel sister.

Their father (the "Kernel") is a coiled spring, unwound nightly by gin. Tense after a long day at National Defence Headquarters, he erupts in upper-case during dinner: "THERE'S ABSOLUTELY NO REASON YOU NEED TO USE SO MUCH MILK ON A DAILY BASIS." Alternatively, he's quiet and menacing: "I'm always at the ready... I can see through the bullcrap, my son."

Gertie is the family peacenik. Rejecting meat, she describes slaughterhouse techniques at dinner. One day she comes home with some liberated chickens. Within days, dad has blown them to red mist with his shotgun. When Gertie checks out, heading to a B.C. commune, Herb loses his anchor on sanity. One night, on the edge, he cranks up the volume on a recording of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture.

"I was no longer Ottawa Valley Irish, but came from hard Russian stock... I had no time to stop for fallen comrades... [and] there was Gertie, waiting for me, torn and ravaged and ragged, but weeping tears of joy at this reunion with her brother, her comrade, her poet-warrior."

Tension builds until, late one night, burned toast and too much gin push dad over the edge. Herb stands up to his father's bullying with eloquent indignation and earns a head-first flight into the kitchen drywall. As the crisis builds and explodes, Ford negotiates the labyrinth of emotions with prose that enters the mind, not like fine writing but simply and powerfully, like all the things it evokes: volcanic anger, sorrow, aching regret.

"Our house was a goddamn freakshow," Herb tells us. It's impossible not to agree. What Ford does, with great sensitivity, is to make the freaks recognizable, and their life sentence an extension of the one we know. The book is filled with hyperbole and dark comedy, but not a hint of the cartoonish. Ford couldn't be more attuned to the tragic potential in petty resentments and the inability to express love.

Absurdly, and completely convincingly, Herb attempts to escape his father by embracing the ironclad certainties of the military. After he's accepted at boot camp for officers, the Royal Military College in Kingston, the real nightmare begins.

Things happen at Ford's RMC that, had they been reported from Abu Ghraib, would only have magnified the scandal. But these lost boys are fellow warriors and the shocks have a purpose: the making of unquestioning killers. Can it be as brutal at RMC as Ford implies? Ford makes it seem plausible. He was also a student there. Only graduates -- and those who fled -- will know where his imagination takes over.

Jim Bartley is The Globe and Mail's first-fiction reviewer.

"Bonk on the Head" is a book that I can't believe wasn't written before now. Canada's Royal Military College (RMC) is an amazing setting for a novel, packed with hilarious and sometimes scary characters and a pressure-cooker of a place where people are put through almost unbelievable demonstrations of their loyalty. John-James Ford uses this backdrop to full effect, and with startling honesty, as he presents the trials of his main character, Verbal Kempt. Whether it's the demands of conforming to the rigorous and insular school society, thinking about sex and how to deal with his girlfriend, or Verbal's thoughts about where he belongs in his messed up family life, Ford delivers an internal monologue and external dialogue that rings true. Ford is also great at evoking atmosphere-places like the no-privacy room Verbal has to share with his roommate Mack, and the colourful daydreams of victory and revenge Verbal has to cope with life. What I especially liked about the book was that Verbal Kempt is not sure of his motivations or where he wants to go, either at home or at military college. This is not a heroic novel. Rather, it's one that I think is that much harder to write but more compelling-the story of a guy who just isn't sure where he belongs. Many of the chapters (whose headings are fantastic in and of themselves) read like short stories, which means the book is a good one for road trips or grabbing a few chapters on your lunch break. I'd also recommend this book to every college or university-level student, if for nothing else so that you say "at least my life isn't that hard, no one was hazing me at 3 a.m. during my first week away from home". I should warn you that the writing is sometimes graphic, so if you have a weak stomach for things like what a men's rugby team may get up to on the road, or what gross obstacles might be set in the path of new military recruits, this book may not be for you. Ford is also brutally honest about just how difficult life at the military college is for women, so don't expect any candy-coating. Overall, a fun and compelling read. I hope this becomes a new coming of age classic.

As a long time fan of T. Novan's various stories, I am thrilled to see this one published. It is an exciting story that introduces its readers to the possibility of a better world of the future, one that is willing to accept variations in lifestyle without judgement. But also a world still wrought with age old issues of jealousy, greed and revenge, and the struggles of two young lovers trying to make it through it all. This is one you will want to read again and again! Bravo, TN! This reader looks forward with anticipation to your next adventure!

As a long time fan of T. Novan's various stories, I am thrilled to see this one published. It is an exciting story that introduces its readers to the possibility of a better world of the future, one that is willing to accept variations in lifestyle without judgement. But also a world still wrought with age old issues of jealousy, greed and revenge, and the struggles of two young lovers trying to make it through it all. This is one you will want to read again and again! Bravo, TN! This reader looks forward with anticipation to your next adventure!

I have always loved anything written by T. Novan, but wasn't sure what to expect when I picked up this sci-fi novel. I don't think it's very well-known and it is very different from anything else she's written.

Novan introduces Garron Ford Kurrathian, a ship commander and head of the second most powerful family in her society. Ford is emotionally distant and a very hard-driving leader. No one expects her to adopt a slave and let her into her heart. Ford's new slave is Marra, a woman with a few undiscovered secrets of her own. Their relationship develops very quickly and becomes intense beyond measure.

Ford and Marra are only part of the gift that is this book. The imagination required to create a complex, non-Earth society shines through the author's words. There are slaves, state-endorsed polygamy, laws against adultery, strange animals, and much more. The author throws in a lot of humor and `Earth mythology' throughout the book too.

My only real complaint about the book is the last page mentions a sequel. As far as I can tell, that sequel never happened. Unfortunately for me, I would have loved to read it because the characters are great and the story seems unfinished.

I like all I read of T's stuff online. This is not nearly so good as her online versions. For some reason, Ford and Mara have less lifeliness in published version than they did online. I have to say now I like Nyeta and Phoenix better than most of the main people (and Nyeta and Phoenix are the dragons!). Part of the problem is the book ends abrupt--why not have the whole book as one? Make no sense. Also, who checked for mistakes? There is so many mistakes even I can tell and I am bad at spelling and typos. I was real disappointed on this one. The love scene seemed shorter and less written well than the online version. Maybe I remembering it badly, but I just was disappointed. This is not up to T's regalar standards.

This is an average book. The specifics and detailed photos I was looking for in the book weren't there. What was was a bunch of info already pasted over the internet, including photos and dialog.

An excellent book. Does exactly what it says on the cover. Detailed and informative text, with lots of entertaining and well written information. Well illustrated throughout with both monochrome and full colour pictures. Including period ads and photos and recent photos of restored and customised examples of Ford trucks. Highly recommended

Great book, tons of pictures. Good value, would purchase again.

The photography was excellent and the stories and details on Ford collectable trucks were quite interesting. If you are into old car or truck history or collecting, this is a great addition to your library. Buy it!

For all that this book rambles on about such "interesting" topics as the discussion on how to this book (not your book, but this book!), I found it better than the original volume in the series. There is once again wasted space, i.e. chapters about writing short stories, that don't fit well and are covered much better in other book on writing. Some somewhat useful sections on combining genres.

What makes this book shine is two of the sections are quite good. There is a detailed section on Asian culture (though I wish it had a reference section) and an intruiging chapter on government.

To summarize my thoughts on these books: I was looking for something that would overview a lot of information (which these do) in enough detail (which these sometimes do) and with good references (the references were spotty at best. Some chapters ended with suggestions on how to do an internet search.) If there were a better set of books that covered this information, I would recommend it, but I have yet to find any such thing.

Unless you want a detailed discussion on Asian culture, I recommend purchasing "The Writer's Complete Fantasy Reference" instead.

The greatest compliment I can give this book is that I've owned it for less than a week and it's been borrowed four times. The first volume goes over general character and world generation--anyone with access to roleplaying reference materials knows general character and world generation--but this book won my heart because it describes other areas of fantasy fiction. High notes are Tony Ruggerio's chapter on horror fantasy and Tee Morris' chapter on Asian-based fantasy, and a few chapters concern editing and publishing specifically for the fantasy writing market. However, the rest of the book rehashes the same information laid out in the first volume, albeit with a few tweaks (like a full-blown "sex in fantasy" chapter instead of a few hints).

All in all, it's one of the better fantasy resources I've found in print. If you've got the cash to spare and you write offbeat fantasy, it's worth owning.

I have to say that Vol. 2 is just as complete as the first book in the series. However, the first book was printed in the US, and the second book in Canada, so the second book is a little smaller (metric I guess), and the book was cut with a unsharpened blade, so the pages are not even and have blade patterns cut in them. Other, than the asthetics, the book is great. The publisher needs better QC, that's all.

This is a must-have for anyone trying to write fantasy. The book is an easy, entertaining read. Kudos to all who contributed

I really enjoyed this book and was tempted to read some of it again."The Vampire Stone" by Timothy Ridge is by far the best written. It's filled with great details about the locations and characters.
So descript, you actually feel like you're right there in this sleepy Hudson River village. Articulate and exciting, the Vampire Stone's character Roceres, is devilish and sometimes frightening to the point of feeling real chills. The wooden box's contents keep you reading and the sex leaves you wondering, who is this guy and where did he learn to do that?...Mr. Ridge is an accomplished writer and I'll be looking out for him in bookstores more. The other stories were also great reads, which is why I gave Midnight Thirsts 2 fangs up!

I haven't read many vampire stories beyond Anne Rice (and one of the characters in this collection jokingly gives his name as "Lestat" in tribute to the quintessential vampire). Each of these novellas offers a new twist on vampire lore and takes Rice's homoerotic vampire theme to a new level.

Herren's concept of the "nightwatcher" is a fresh look at vampires who protect mortals even as they feed on them. The story provides a delicious sexual tension and could easily be developed into an entire vampire book with its three protagonists. The New Orleans setting itself is almost a character in the story and Herren uses it well.

Ford's story, well-written as it is, is less about vampires and more about being an "other," as it presents the lives of people who live outside the boundaries of normalcy and acceptance in its Midwestern 1940s setting. The exploitative villain truly is one and deserves his fate at the hands of Ford's vampire.

Ridge's story is the most densely textured of the four. The shifts in time provide the origin of vampires, and this story's vampire in particular, without the vampire having to tell the tale to the modern-day protagonist. Ridge provides plenty of vampire sex (indeed, the vampires in all of these stories are capable of doing much more than drinking blood, and they do a lot of it). Again, this is a story that could be developed into a full-length novel and offers a couple of unexpected twists in the art of vampire deception.

I'd have enjoyed Wolfe's story more if his vampire's lost love hadn't been glossed over. I like a haunted vampire (Rice is a genius at providing this), and the vampire here acts out of rage and heartbreak, but it's often directed in unnecessarily cruel ways toward undeserving victims. Wolfe redeems him in the end, when he grants one important victim's request, but in getting to that point, the story was less erotic than violent.

The collection should offer something for anyone who's interested in gay vampires--plenty of sex, plenty of blood, and all of the stories have benefited from good editing.

I'll admit I first added this book to my Amazon "wish list" shortly after its announcement, thinking it was the latest in Herren's mystery tales. Since I am not usually a fan of the "vampire" fiction genre, I usually would not have chosen this book, a 321-page compilation of four erotic short stories about gay vampires. In retrospect, I'm glad I did.

Of the four stories, my least favorite was Timothy Ridge's "The Vampire Stone," simply because it had a rather convoluted plot, bouncing back and forth between modern and ancient times It is, however, a well written tale about an antiques dealer who comes across a mysterious wooden box from the 16th century, which changes his life forever.

I enjoyed Herren's "The Nightwatchers", which, like his novels, is based in New Orleans. Phillip is a 20-something would-be-actor working as a waiter and moonlighting as a male escort. After Phillip first spots the aluring and seductive Kevin Lockhart in a contest at a gay bar, his best friend Rachel finds herself working with a mysterious old man to save him from the consequences of his lust.

Michael Thomas Ford's "Carnival" brings us to the dark side of the lives of those who left their rural homes to tour with the carnival, as reclusive lifetime midway handyman Joe Flanagan finds his soulmate in Derry, a young man who is a new addition to their traveling show. He is warned to stay away from Derry by Mr. Star, the curator of the "freak show" wing of the carnival, and he finds himself caught up in a coverup of a series of murders.

My favorite out of the four was the very creative and entertaining "Vampire, Inc." by Sean Wolfe, which brings a "Vampires are people too!"-type vibe to the book. We meet notorious vampire Christo, still bitter over the death of his lover centuries ago, as he arrives in Denver CO, and takes in the local bar scene looking to "feed." Having been to Denver, I know at least two of the bars mentioned are real, as is his description of the gay scene there. But we learn of a "private club" that caters to kind of a gay circuit crowd into vampires, and we learn that politics and backbiting (taken a bit more literal in the context of vampires) is pretty much universal even in such circles.

All four are generally gay-positive, well written and quite erotic, and recommended for those who want "something different" in their reading.

I imagine it must be hard to be a "gay fiction" author. You seem to have to force yourself into one of four sub categories to be successful: Horror (Read: Vampire) Novel, Trashy General Fiction (featuring some faceless torso on the cover), Erotic (featuring some young blond Romanian on the cover), or some kind of Medieval Sci-Fi affair.

There doesn't seem to be much success if you deviate from the norm with "gay fiction". I can hardly blame the contributors to the Short story collection "Midnight Kisses" for trying to mix things up a bit and blend the Horror/Erotic sub genres together, creating something perhaps a little more interesting than the standard fair, but their efforts have fallen a bit short.

First off: A very simple request. To who ever wrote the summaries of the stories on the back of the book: Please read the book. The summaries for the stories are off, expecially the summary for the story "The Nightwatchers" by Greg Herren. Phillip is not an actor, he's a hooker. Er...I'm sorry, escort. There is no one named Kevin in the story, unless by Kevin, you meant Gunther. (I'm sure Kevin would have made a very interesting character though.) This leads me to wonder how much the publishing company really cares about this short story collection if they can't even be bothered to have the correct information on the book.

"The Nightwatchers," first of the four stories seems to have some trouble finding pacing. I enjoyed Greg Herren sneaking in a lesbian character to the story, and I found her plot to be much more interesting than the main character Phillip's. Phillip, as a character, never amounts too much more than a blithering stereotype. Phillip is every character in every erotic story that ISN'T a character, right down to the explicit moans and sexual thoughts. The worst part is the story finds its footing just as it ends. It seems to me like Mr. Herren could have done better writing a novel on his own so he could flesh things out a bit. Maybe give Phillip the escort/coffee guy a personality to go with his sex drive.

The second story, "Carnival " suffers from the same symptoms as the first. The story finally finds it's mark just as it's ending. It's as if the author, Michael Thomas Ford, didn't realize that his story was going to have to end so quickly. He wrote the story as if he was anticipating a grander finish...he wrote as if he was hoping to be given another ten chapters to fill if he made his given pages interesting enough. In honesty, if he did add another ten chapters to the story of Joe, Derry, Emma, and Mr. Star, I would be curious to see what he did with the characters. I was able to stomach Mr. Ford's story in one sitting, which is more than I can say for the others.

Next up? "The Vampire Stone," by Timothy Ridge. Confusing characters that act with out logic in their intentions marred the story, but I will give Mr. Ridge credit for actually writing eroticism that was arousing. In the end, the stories main character left me with one important question: Just how many times can a guy get off in one session? Three? Four? There was a three page session where every page featured protaganist Roland "bursting" in a new position or location. Go Roland.

At least the last story pulls it together marginally. "Vampire Inc." by Sean Wolfe had enough bite to keep me interested, but lacked punch in the end. I'm not going to go into details as to exactly how his story ends, but it's about as far fetched and out of place as me in a dress. Mr. Wolfe's characters were at least genuine characters, and his story had a great flow. Five less pages Mr. Wolfe, and the story would have been flawless. If this story is any indication of Mr. Wolfe's writing style, I would recommend investigating his solo efforts.

So, what's left to say? A bunch of unsatisfying stories that I had to push myself to finish didn't leave me feeling satisfied. It left me hungry for a more wholesome experience.
Why couldn't Kurt Vonnegut have written us a collection of homoerotic vampire stories before he stopped writing? Now that would have been an interesting read.

A great reprint that looks original because it has little in the way of reproduction markings. Just a bar code on the back cover and on the last page, and the republishers info added to the bottom of the first page. Nothing bold and huge like with Jim Osborn reprinted stuff. Way cheaper on Amazon than the same thing sold on eBay too!

Not a bad book of esoteric specifications, but generallly not something that I need either. Wish I would have spent my money on something else.

I was very happy to get this book through [...]. The service was excellent. This handbook had been out of print for many years and it was a treat to have this hard to find book offered for sale by Amazon.
Thank you
Ray & Joanne Touchette

Ford guy's don't miss this one if you are working with V-8 engines thru 1971. MC

A very good book based on the thirty years or so Mr. Harry Bennett had immediate contact with the Great Henry Ford. Harry knew Mr. Ford like no other. When he says Mr. Ford was a supersticious man and would scarcely move on a Friday the 13th one has to believe it.

Footnote: Superstition is the irrational belief that future events are influenced by specific behaviors, without having a causal relationship. Thanks Wikipedia...he apparently had a great belief in re-incarnation also.

Harry's office was in the basement, but this was really Mr. Ford's Office also, as there was a secret door that they would both use. Henry Ford had a plush office on Mahagony Row but he was never there, he would be doing something like walking down the railroad tracks finding iron still in the railroad iron ore slag and ordering 700 men to pick it up by hand and re-cycle it because it still had iron in it.

The greatest shock in the book, to me, was the fact that Henry Ford's Father was an orphan and never knew his Mother and Father. Henry spent a great deal of time and money trying to determine who they were. With the DNA studies available, maybe the family can now determine who they really are.....

Henry Ford and the Ford Motor Company in 1927, at the end of the Model T were rolling a finished Model T out of the Factory at a rate of 1.6 Fords a minute, made over 15 million of them at a gross of 7 Billion dollars, not including the sales of the Fordson Tractor.....

The book is one of those rare ones you can scarcely set aside, when you are away from it you wish you were there reading it.

Mr. Harry Bennett, you did a wonderful job writing this book and letting the world see some of the idiosyncracies of one of the greatest men in History........what Henry's Company acomplished is amazing by any standard. The iron ore could be in the ground on Monday and someone be driving a new car, made from it, on Thursday.

I received great pleasure from Mr. Bennetts efforts. EYE-OPENING

James Dixon Graves Jr.
Lone Star, Texas

Why hasn't anyone found me this book?

I read this book in the mid '50s. I agree that a Henry Ford buff will find this interesting reading. But this book is interesting to me for another reason. My grandfather worked for Ford Motor for years, and then for the Henry Ford Museum until he retired about 1952. From time to time he would see Mr. Ford. He told us that the Ford family had been offended by this book and had bought up as many copies as it could lay it's hands on.

If true, that could explain why it is so difficult to get copies of the original 1951 Gold Medal Book publication today.

After the pages of his original copy fell out of their binding , he stacked the leaves, drilled holes thru the margin cover-to-cover, and bound them all together with two pieces of string. When he died (1958), his copy passed into my mother's hands. About four years ago, it came into mine.

I was fortunate to stumble on another copy at a garage sale in the early '90s (for $.25). Also fortunately, it's binding is still pretty-much in tact. It's the only other copy that I've ever seen.

Harry Bennett's story of his life as Henry Ford's right hand man. Bennett served as Henry Ford's assistant for many years - almost running Ford Motor Company at times. Hated by the majority of the Ford family and even by many Ford employees; nevertheless, Bennett seemed to have unequalled power within the organization. This is his account of his role in the automobile manufacturer's interesting history and struggle's with the Ford family. Written years after his retirement from Ford Motor Company. Interesting reading but keep in mind that this is Bennett's story and could be considered one-sided.

No feedback yet from the actual owners.
I have found Frommer's to be the best in travel books.
LOVE them for where to go and all the information I need for a great visit.

This book gave us all the info we needed to plan our trip. The maps inside the cover were very helpful. Book has a lot on where to stay and eat, but only if you have lots of money. For the budget traveler, that info was too much considering how much everything they reviewed cost. Gave lots of info on where to go and what to see. Would recommend to anyone traveling.

Frommer's continues its tradition of excellence with the 2006 guide to D.C. Most helpful to us were the "Getting to Know Washington D.C" chapter, and the chapter on "Suggested Itineraries". The pullout map is invaluable. If you've never been to D.C., or have not toured the city, this book is a fabulous reference.

I rated the 2004 edition of this book at 5 stars, but this edition has slipped just a bit for containing outdated information and omissions of a few other things, so I would say it deserves a 4-and-a-half star rating.

The major thing missing is a mention of The Circulator. This is the bus that loops from Capitol Hill through the K-street corridor to Georgetown, and is $1 to ride, and runs until 10pm. It is cheaper and runs much more frequently than the blue bus that is mentioned in the guide. The Circulator started in early 2005, so it should have made it into this year's edition of the Frommers.

The guide lists a Smithsonian Museum Hotline, and when I called this month (August 2006), the number was out of service.

The Phillips Collection is listed as being free during the weekdays. Wrong. The Phillips Collection is donation-only during the weekdays, and the gal at the desk did watch us drop some money in the donation box. Not a huge deal, but the information was inaccurate. The Phillips has doubled in size since the renovations were completed, and "The Boating Party" is once again on display after its long absence in a traveling exhibition, as is my favorite, "Woman With Dog" painted by Pierre Bonnard.

In the 2004 edition, there was a restaurant that my wife and I loved named Olives. It was not in this edition, but it is still in business and was a fabulous experience when we went (as it was 2 years ago). We enjoyed Olives vastly better than La Tosca (don't order the chicken at La Tosca...blah).

Another place that should be mentioned in the guide is The Capitol City Brewing Company right near China Town (with another location on Capitol Hill). The variety of micro-brews was fantastic, the staff was very friendly (especially Benny!), and during weekdays from 4pm until 7pm, they have half-price beers and appetizers at the enormous bar section (the sesame-covered seared tuna and the Asian quesadillas were absolutely delightful). A great place to visit if you are on a budget.

Even with these minor errors and omissions, it is still a highly valuable guide.