DC Washington Books

The current Timeout 2004 guide for Washington, DC has really good coverage of DC art galleries; in fact it is the only DC guide that offers any decent "guiding" to Washington area galleries.

It is written by Jessica Dawson, who also pens the "Galleries" column for the Washington Post.

She has a good introduction and even lists her favorites for 2004 under "Names of the Game."

Jessica nails it when she recognizes in her intro that a new "optimism" is kindling a really good art scene in the Washington, DC region.

Unfortunately, throughout the pages dedicated to the galleries, and as it is to be expected, there are quite a few comparisons to New York this, New York that all over the place.

And reading through Jessica's descriptions of the various galleries also offers an honest and rare insight as to how this critic evaluates and views (she seems to have something about "safe art," whatever that is) most of the Greater Washington, DC region's art galleries. For example Dawson praises Zenith Gallery's Margery Goldberg for her "tireless activism," but describes the gallery as "while influential in the neon art scene, consistently shows mediocre painting and craft."

Addison/Ripley is praised for selling "high-calibre paintings, photography and prints," but "their selections, while lovely, are awfully safe."

Cheryl Numark is "Washington's power dealer", while Leigh Conner shows work by the "kind of cutting-edge artists that Washingtonians usually travel to New York to see."

MOCA is "DC's answer to the hip, alternative galleries of New York."

Fraser Gallery (which I co-own) "concentrates on photography, but occasionally shows innovative sculpture and work in other media," while our Bethesda outpost is a "bright, glass-walled gallery [that] exhibits realist painting and photography."

Hemphill Fine Arts "plays host to many of Washington's strongest artists," but "the art here tends towards the decorative."

Fusebox is "sharp and savvy," and has "raised the bar for visual art in Washington," and their openings are "events to see and be seen at."

Anyway... Bravo Timeout!

"Undercover Washington" is unlike any other travel guide I've seen. It covers all of the places in Washington, D.C. and surrounding suburbs in Maryland and Virginia where spies lived, loved, worked, and defected. The book covers spies and espionage throughout history from George Washington to current events. This is a fun book for locals and tourists.

Published in early 1980, the NASA produced book (NASA Special Publication NASA SP-441) contains numerous photographs obtained by the two Viking space probes which had been in orbit around Mars since mid 1976 are presented. The pictures represent only a small fraction of the many thousands taken; however, the resolution of these photographs was approximately ten times better than the previous Martian orbiter, Mariner 9 and gave a hint of the discoveries that would come with the Martian probes of the late 1990's and early 2000's. The photographs that were chosen illustrate the diverse geology of Mars and its atmospheric phenomena. Specific topics discussed include the Viking mission and its objectives, a brief comparison of Earth and Mars, and surface features of Mars including the great equatorial canyons, channels, volcanic and deformational features, and craters. Martian moons, surface processes, polar regions, and the Martian atmosphere are also covered.

Even though this book has been out print for nearly 25 years, it is readily available from many used book dealers for around $25 and well worth the price.

It is important to note that amazon has multiple listings of this book, but they are all NAS SP-441

.... to my shelf of baseball books. For baseball fans and DC residents (I'm both) not fully versed on the long, colorful and sometimes maddening history of the national pasttime in the nation's capital, this is a terrific and concise primer.

I spend a LOT of time in DC - five weeks between March and June 2008 alone. I have seen every map brand known to mankind, and believe me, this is THE best DC map out there, bar NONE.

[The same is true of their other maps as well. I've purchased (8) Borch city maps, plus their US Interstate map so far and am completely impressed! I have several colleagues who agree their Manhattan and NY maps are also the best available. It's pretty much unanimous.]

Note also that these are "soft laminated" maps - VERY easy to handle, and unlike the typical "hard" products, you can fold and "press" the Borch maps.

My husband and I have just returned from DC and found this guide very helpful. It helped give us brief snapshots of the places to go and see in specific neighborhoods. The reason I didn't give it a five star rating is the maps. We ended up buying a seperate map because they were very limited. The size of the book was a plus, it was easy to stash in my backpack. Having this to plan our trip prior to arriving in the city, was a great asset and helped make our trip more enjoyable. I'm planning a trip to NYC and plan on buying a Top 10 Guide for that trip.

I like the size of the book and the different categories. It may not be as complete as some others, but it has a lot of information in a size small enough to carry.

My son chose this book for researching our trip to DC. So far it is the usual great quality of information from DK Publishing. So many small maps, pictures with facts and great reading information. These are great for kids and adults. Thanks DK Publishing! ...We did take the trip to DC and found that this book was easy to carry with us and had ton of very valuable information. This was that best book for Washington DC. We got it for our son but we ended up using it alot!!!

If you are looking for a guide to carry with you when exploring DC than this is the guide. It lays out excellent recommendations on where to eat and visit. I would plan your trip with a bigger guide but this is the one I would carry with you on your day to day travels in DC.

My ultimate opinion on how to rate a guide book is the frequency with which I use it while traveling. I spent 6 days in DC, bought this book on my first day there, tried to use it that day and the next, and finally just gave up. While the graphics are very attractive and while the guide LOOKS very helpful, the appearance proves to be mostly superficial. It seemed like, whenever I'd consult the book with a question about a particular site, it lacked the information I needed. I found myself using it mainly for the phone numbers, which I think I easily could have obtained without paying for a whole book.

A guide book should provide quick answers and clear directions and information, but I got very little from this. Instead I found myself consulting other sources. I had a map from my hotel, several National Parks brochures, and a pamphlet from the Smithsonian institute, all of which proved infinitely more useful than this book. And, as previous reviewers have pointed out, I found the restaurant section very lacking. I carried this book around with me for the duration of my stay, but whenever I reached into my bag for information I invariably grabbed something else.

This is an excellent guide to DC. The pictures are beautiful and the descriptions are on the mark. I really appreciated the contact information and hours of operation for the various sites that were posted on each of the venues sections. It is also very up to date and even includes the new World War II memorial and the New Smithsonian Native American Museum. I would highly recommend this book to any who are going to DC.

The StreetSmart DC map by vanDam is a near-perfect tool for visitors to Washington, DC. For starters, it is laminated and proved to be durable despite heavy use. It fits nicely in a pants pocket so it is easy to carry. It is large enough to allow for a map with street-level detail with lettering large enough to be clear. In addition to the city map, there is an expanded section of the Mall area that is extremely easy to read and use. There are also sections showing the Adams-Morgan area as well as Old Town Alexandria. Indexes are provided not only for streets but all the attractions you could possibly be interested in including parks, museums, government buildings, museums, etc. Metro stops are clearly shown on these maps, but there is also a separate map that shows the individual Metro lines and all of the stops for each one.

I carried this in my pocket every day I was in the city and it was truly worth its weight in gold.

If I could find my 1996 copy, I wouldn't be at Amazon looking for the 1998 update! Everything you wanted to know about DC dining and honest, realistic reviews which really help make decisions easier.

This book is great for anyone planning to go to Washington DC. It includes information on just about everything in the city and also includes attractions in nearby areas. I strongly suggest that you purchase this book!