Travel Books

Even if you don't live in the Southeast, this book will wow you with truly gorgeous photography. Highest recommendation from me!!

I saw the book over at a friend's house and started looking thru it...limited on time and cound not read much. The pictures are the first thing that caught my attention; so much nature and serenity. I couldn't help but come home and order the book thru amazon and have not been disappointed. It sits in my living room where I can pick it up and look thru it on a regular basis. The stories of their travels make you feel you are there with them. Would highly recommend this book to anyone who is into nature, the river or just down to earth living.

I ordered this book for research on a screenplay I'm writing about Atlanta. The detailed information was thorough, easy reading and quite useful. I wasn't really expecting the beautiful photographs, which also added a certain "atmosphere" to the screenplay as it developed. Makes a great coffee table book.

If you appreciate old fashioned values and true Americana, get this book. Truly unique and is capturing a part of our histroy that is being lost to development.

This book has won a Southern Books Competition Award of Merit in Book Design from the Southeastern Library Association. This award is given in recognition of the book's aesthetic appeal and design and for fine craftsmanship in its printing and binding. Congratulations to authors Joe Cook and Monica Cook, designer John Langston, printer Pacifica Communications, and the University of Alabama Press.

Skehan uses the fascinating geology of Massachusetts to teach amazing amounts of geology. Great for anybody who'll be traveling around the state who's interested in understanding the land. I want more!

I have been looking for this sort of detailed, hands-on guide to Massachusetts geological formations for a while, & am delighted with Skehan's book. It's a bit of a tome yet readable and easy to bring along on roadtrips and hikes.

I read this book from cover to cover and was impressed with it's depth of information. I then actually brought this book into the field and it served me well. A great guide!!!!!!

James W. Skehan's Roadside Geology Of Massachusetts will please residents of Massachusetts and any with a special affection for its local geology, providing a geologic history of the mountains and rocks of the state. An organization by area makes it easy to locate the part of Massachusetts which is of particular interest, while geologic facts assume no prior scientific knowledge - lay readers will relish this guide.

I have bought other titles in this series when on vacation in the States, so I was delighted to find this book in a bookstore on a recent visit to Boston and Cape Cod. The descriptions of peri- and post-glacial geology were particularly illuminating as I walked beaches and trails on the Cape and Islands. Comparing these descriptions with older books on the geology of the Cape it is amazing how much detail is encompassed in a small number of pages. Similarly, descriptions of other areas familiar to me, such as Cape Ann, Boston and the Concord/Lexington area, all gave me a much better understanding. I look forward to visiting unfamiliar parts of the state, with this book in hand. It is not just for residents, but is a must for the vactioner interested in the natural history or landform of Massachusetts.

Book is interesting and informative. Gave it as a gift to my husband as he does a lot of driving around Texas and was quite interested in the different rocks and their formation along the side of the roads. He has really enjoyed his book. Wish there were more books out there of this nature.

This book is very easy to read and understand - even by someone who knows nothing about geology! I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to know more about the geological beauty of the beautiful state of Texas!

As with all the books in this series, you simply cannot go wrong. On a recent trip to central Texas, we took this guide with us and were able to follow along the drive and both visually and scientifically understand what the geology was all about. A truly great geology guide for Texas.

Excellence abounds in this book. The illustrations are good, but the writing is extraordinarily good for a book on a technical subject. I read it through like a fine novel. I've lived in Texas all my life and was surprised that there was so much Texas geology that I didn't know. A must-have for anyone interested in Texas history or geology.

This is the best book of the Roadside Geology series. Spearing explains not just the location and character of the rock formations one encounters on TX roadways, but the processes which made them. Best of all, he specifically provides the name and formative time period of almost every formation mentioned (e.g., "Triassic Trujillo sandstone") -- avoiding the overgeneralized naming (e.g., "Mesozoic sediment layer") of a few other Roadside Geology volumes. This is certainly a time saver for the rock collector who catalogs his specimens! This book is a must-get for all rock enthusiasts -- even those who have never been to Texas. Now if someone would just write a Roadside Geology of Oklahoma volume...

I have a shelf full of guides to Rome but when I bought this last year I threw away the rest of the shelf. It is simply fantastic. I have been a book reviewer for thirty years and never thought I would 'go overboard' about a book but this is everything I wanted. Personal, informed, entertaining, reliable, surprising, instructive, accessible, logical, practical.......I run out of words. It's great to read before during and after you visit Rome - only drawback is it's too bulky to carry around with you but take notes! Use it as your bible. Rome (Pallas Guides)

Terrific Book. Detailed descriptions of this glorious city. Every traveler to Rome should use it as reference.

Did you ever run across a guidebook that, at the same time, 1) gives you a brilliantly clever and comprehensive choice of information about the sites and 2) allows you to get to each site in the easiest, quickest way?

I didn't, until I found "Rome" by Mauro Lucentini. That double record is especially remarkable in a city like Rome, where the various sights may have lifespans of up to 2,800 years requiring equally monumental explanations, and/or be concealed into corners of a labyrinthine ancient habitat, where you can easily lose your way. With 700-plus pages, Lucentini's book may be a bit heavy to carry, but it is an incredible pleasure to read, and you will be thankful for each page, so fascinating is every bit of the information provided - no other Roman guide comes even close to the amount of historic or artistic background supplied - and for the fact that it will lead you in front of every item by the hand.

Also, the book is structured in such a way that, if you care doing it, you are able to read a good half of it and digest quite a lot of information even before you leave for your destination, This is a quality no other guidebook I know possesses, at least not to such an extent.

Brilliant! I've been to Rome five times with this book... although it was concise enough to give me an excellent overview even by the first time.

This book is a wonderful foray into the many aspects and history of Rome, and can be enjoyed sitting in New York, as well as walking in Rome. I've taken many of the walks, and the book is a chatty, fun, and erudite companion, pointing out all of the (almost) hidden traces of centuries past. A must for travelers in Italy (or just in your armchair)!

Gave as stocking stuffer at Christmas. We frequently visit the North End for dinner and this works perfect to keep track of the places we like and to check out new places to eat!

My parents and I just got home from a trip to Boston and Cape Cod. My big sister had a copy of Rosalie's Guide and we walked around the North End. We found the best lasagna place ever using Rosalie's Guide. I loved Boston and I loved this book. It made our vacation even greater! My pparents said the book was really cool too.

"Rosalie's Guide" is a terrific resource. I bought the 1999 edition last year during a business trip to Boston and found it extremely helpful. The 2000 edition is even more inciteful, and is packed with suggestions for everything ranging from a casual lunch to a formal meal with clients. I strongly recommend this guide to anyone planning a trip to Boston.

"Restaurants in the North End of Boston" is an excellent guide to those out-of-the way places we love to find all by ourselves, but usually don't have the time. Perhaps we can talk her into compiling a similar guide for North Beach in San Francisco. What a treasure this book will be for our next trip to Boston. The restaurants are organized by street and the guide also includes parking information, price ranges, and a map of the area. This guide is a must for anyone who loves to explore new and out of the way places.

A well-written, concise and descriptive pocket guide, Rosalie's Guide is a must for the business traveler and occasional tourist who finds him/herself in the Boston area. Capturing the essence of the very best the North End has to offer - from bakeries to cafes to trattorias - Rosalie's Guide will ensure the very best dining experience! Bon Appetit!

This is the first book of a six book series about a 10 year old girl, Rosemary Rita. She somehow travels back in time by flipping a magical hourglass, a gift from her grandmother, and supposedly meets her great-great-great grandmother Rosemary Ruth Berger (Rosemarie) in Berlin in 1870. It is truly an excellent story. The details are so amazingly descriptive, I could picture where Rosemary Rita and Rosemarie were and who they met. This book takes you places, literally. Just one thing I didn't like about this story is that it jumps into things too quickly. My favorite character is Rosemary Rita, just a curious 10 year old who is very interested in her family tree. She has a little brother, Ryan, who gets on her nerves at times, but Rosemary Rita is always loving and caring to him. She remembers how Ryan says her name, "Row-may-we-wheat-a", and when she is away in Berlin, that voice just makes her want to cry. One question I had after reading this book was if she really went back in time or if it was all a dream. It just makes me think about how she really got there, and the magic that the hourglass had. Overall, this book is awesome. I mainly recommend reading this book because of the elaborate details and accurate information. I can't wait to read the next one!

This book was awesome! The book has accurate information and good detail that paints a picture in your head about what it was like in Germany a long time ago. In some other books, I read it and say, "I know this isn't what happened" but this book was so accurate. I kept reading this book on and on. It was not boring at all. I love this book because this idea is original. One of a kind. And I couldn't put it down. It kept me interested right from the beginning. It might look like a short book but trust me, there's a lot of good stuff in it. Some history(don't worry, it's not boring), fiction, mystery, and good pictures. I love this book and I think you will too. No matter what your age. It's not too hard to read and I think that all ages will enjoy it.

What a delightful book! This book should appeal to any girl with a sense of fun and adventure. Well-written and a real "page-turner", the book blends whimsy, adventure and historically accurate facts in a most engaging way. The lead character is a person that any young girl could easily relate to, and her adventures leave you wishing that you, too, had a magical hourglass! I was particularly impressed by the use of links to the accompanying website- what a great way to use kids' interest in "playing on the computer" to encourage an interest in reading the printed word! I highly recommend this book!

I read this book in one sitting, literally! I bought it today and just couldn't put it down. I've always wondered what it would be like if I could go back and meet my great grandparents. This new bookseries, The Hourglass Adventures, answers that question. Rosemary comes from a long line of grandparents that share her first name, but most of them have nicknames. In the first book, Rosemary Rita goes back in time to 1870 by means of a magic hourglass. When she looks at a postcard that was sent to her great-great-great grandmother, Rosemary Ruth "Rosemarie", who is referred to as Rosemarie in the book, and tips over the hour glass, she is sent back in time and helps her great-great-great grandmother solve a mystery. Of course Rosemary can't tell Rosemarie that she is her great-great-great grandmother... so Rosemary tells Rosemarie that her name is Rita. This is a wonderful book, and I can't wait to get number 2. This is a book series that you will keep for always and will read over again. It's so imagnative and wonderfully written... a must for anyone who always wondered what it would be like to go back in time and meet your ancestors!

Just finished the first; can't wait to read the others. I have 2 young daughters and can't wait til they are old enough to enjoy these creative, interactive, intelligent books.

I first used this book with my second graders as a pre-service art teacher last spring and knew I needed it for my own classroom library! This is truly a picture book with limited text to help children see what Ann Jonas intended with her black and white silhouette imagery.

Be prepared for "ooohs," "aahs," and excited gasps as you make the trip home from the city with the family in the book!

I had read this book many years ago and needed a fun book to read to primary aged kids when I subbed in a second grade class room. They loved it as much as I did. It was also a book I put in the PEO educational basket our chapter donated to local community college to raise funds for scholarships!

I am a preschool teacher and this book was a real hit with my 3 to 6 year olds it really sparks their imagination. On child said I really like that the pictures are in black and white because you could imagine what the colors are. They loved guessing what the pictures were when they were upside down.

This book is an excellent visual and text example of circular endings. I use it in both my reading and writing workshops. Very neat concept when you flip the book upside down to see new pictures and text.

"Round Trip" is a book with a surprise! Each black and white scene tells half of a story and then the book can be turned upside down to tell the second half. Drawings work either right side up or upside down and are visual delights. We read it over and over.

This is the real thing folks. No more cute travel stories that romanticize without substance, that Disneyize and exaggerate. This book is the story of the author's courageous and thoughtful trip through an amazingly historical place that is also presently complicated and important. However, the author comes at it from a personal angle: the cosmology of canoes. We learn the importance of canoe travel not only to the Maya but to the author and people in general. That connects to the Maya cosmology and culture, the sense of place that is inherent in living in a watershed and having your existence contingent to flowing water (whether you live in the Lacandon forest or Westchester County), the importance of the geography of the region to the people who live there, and then finally to how all this connects to the Zapatista movement and the modern, and not so modern (this thing is full of scholarly but apt historical asides) plight of the indigenous Maya. All along the way you get to like the author, in his sometimes goofy gringo ways but his omnipresent awareness of his own place within the experience. Sprinkle in healthy doses of heart-thumping whitewater in canoes with inexperienced bow-men, death defying swims, life-threatening bandits, and tight, musical prose, and you've got one heck of a book. I tell you what, Shaw's got it right, the same way Matthiesson did. I recommend this book extremely highly. I wish it were getting more publicity. Read it. Its important.

I was disappointed after getting to the end of the book to find out that the author only navegated half-way down the Usumacinta. It's like reading a book about someone who goes half-way up Everest! I understand his reasoning (security) and financial limitations, however the security situation dramatically improved shortly after he left and he could have easily finished the trip. Putting in the extra effort and completing the task would have definitely improved the book and the author's contribution to the world's body of knowledge. His insights on the Mayan's use of rivers for commerce and the east/west trade routes are excellent. His thorough research into the more recent history of the area was also excellent.

(From Planeta Journal) - Ready to explore one of the world's most intriguing regions? Take your trip with Christopher Shaw who introduces readers to the Usumacinta River and its magnificent watershed that stretches across the Mexico-Guatemala border in his new book, Sacred Monkey River (New York: W.W. Norton, 2000).

Subtitled "A Canoe Trip with the Gods," this notable book traces the author's canoe trips running the great river. Unlike many adventure travel narratives in which the author plunges into an unknown terrain, Shaw aims for comprehension rather than searching for misadventure. The result is an account which combines the best of travel literature and environmental reporting.

Few travelers opt for the watery path, particularly with the threat of hijackings and shootings in such a remote area. But Shaw, an accomplished river guide and an enthusiast of the Maya culture, will not be deterred.

"In classical art, two gods pictured as canoeists, accompanied travelers on both actual and metaphysical journeys," Shaw explains. "Both gods paddle the souls of the dead to the Otherworld and the cosmic canoe -- the Milky Way -- across the sky."

Shaw also connects with the environmentalists in the region, including Fernando Ochoa and Ronald Nigh -- two pioneers in developing sustainable agricultural practices in the region.

The book is a veritable "Who's Who" in the region. Meet Scott Davis of Ceiba Adventures, Maya scholars Linda Schele and David Freidel, Moises Morales, the owner of El Pachan and Victor Perera, author of The Last Lords of Palenque.

The book is divided into 12 chapters and boasts the 1953 Franz Blom map of the Selva Lacandona on the inside book cover. What would be useful additions would be a map of the author's expeditions and an index of places and names.

Sacred Monkey River deserves a long shelf-life and it will no doubt be consulted for many years by travelers and environmentalists alike.

This book has been a genuine page turner for me, and as I approached the end I tried not to read too much at each sitting so I could prolong its pleasures.

It is for anyone interested in Mesoamerica, Mayan culture, canoeing as adventure, or boats as the movers of trade and ideas. Also for anyone who is lusting for an otherworld experience, metaphorically or actually, though trave, boating, psychogenic drugs, or all of the above. It is full of honest hard-nosed obserevation of nature and the specific nature of this area, and at the same time streches for and is able to peek at the"final" trip, perhaps as many civilizatins saw it, goin on a craft down a river or out to sea/see. shaw effortlessly intertwines some Spanish into his evocative--dare I use the word--poetic English, always aiming for and touching precision and clarity without sacrificing mystery. On, I believe, its deepest level, the language as well as the story drew me into the unknow, into the future, and of course the past as well.

(From Planeta Journal) - Ready to explore one of the world's most intriguing regions? Take your trip with Christopher Shaw who introduces readers to the Usumacinta River and its magnificent watershed that stretches across the Mexico-Guatemala border in his new book, Sacred Monkey River (New York: W.W. Norton, 2000).

Subtitled "A Canoe Trip with the Gods," this notable book traces the author's canoe trips running the great river. Unlike many adventure travel narratives in which the author plunges into an unknown terrain, Shaw aims for comprehension rather than searching for misadventure. The result is an account which combines the best of travel literature and environmental reporting.

Few travelers opt for the watery path, particularly with the threat of hijackings and shootings in such a remote area. But Shaw, an accomplished river guide and an enthusiast of the Maya culture, will not be deterred.

"In classical art, two gods pictured as canoeists, accompanied travelers on both actual and metaphysical journeys," Shaw explains. "Both gods paddle the souls of the dead to the Otherworld and the cosmic canoe -- the Milky Way -- across the sky."

Shaw also connects with the environmentalists in the region, including Fernando Ochoa and Ronald Nigh -- two pioneers in developing sustainable agricultural practices in the region.

The book is a veritable "Who's Who" in the region. Meet Scott Davis of Ceiba Adventures, Maya scholars Linda Schele and David Freidel, Moises Morales, the owner of El Pachan and Victor Perera, author of The Last Lords of Palenque.

The book is divided into 12 chapters and boasts the 1953 Franz Blom map of the Selva Lacandona on the inside book cover. What would be useful additions would be a map of the author's expeditions and an index of places and names.

Sacred Monkey River deserves a long shelf-life and it will no doubt be consulted for many years by travelers and environmentalists alike.

This is a superb look at the nitty-gritty world of selling. Although the author does fill it with case studies, they are all useful and thought-provoking. My favorite bit of advice concerns what happens to all top salespeople: they get their territory cut. Why? To keep them from getting complacent, of course.

Joe has gone out of his way to cut to the chase. There is no self esteem building and you can do it rah rah rather Joe's frank honest and what it takes to stay on top, remain on top and what to do when you are caught in a no win situation. As an MBA this type of book should be a mandatory read but the reality of tenured professors that are effectively running a union job do not understand how duplicitous and unethically the real business world can be. I finish this book in a few hours and the insight will last me a career. It is also refreshing from the standpoint that Joe has a soul and is interested in seeing the world and some great sales jobs he has had launched that opportunity. If you surf this book is especially cool(which I do and I can relate to the author on many levels.) Another reviewer was turned off by some profanity of which I do not remember so don't focus on issues of crass.

Anybody. I repeat anybody who sells, or wants to become a sales person, has to read this book. This book will keep you in the "game" longer, by playing corporate business model to your advantage. All successful companies value their sales force. But most Sales Managers make you feel like a zero. By reading this book you can change that number and pave a brighter future. Read and Prosper.

This book is a "must have" for the new graduate or anyone who is considering a career or taking on an adventure in sales.

Finally, a fun-to-read book on sales with valuable and positive insights on getting-in, finding the right company, and getting-out when your company becomes the "wrong company."

Joe T has real-life examples and experiences that show you how to work for yourself and enjoy the adventure. He teaches you what to expect in sales and get the most out of your job and keep your sanity. Rather than providing, rehashed "supposedly new", methods of achieving one time sales success, this book provides a "big picture guide" that helps a salesperson's lifelong career. HIGHLY ENTERTAINING AND RECOMMENDED!!!

I went to B-School, got my MBA, and gained valuable education on the theory and practice of managing a successful business. What I was disappointed by, were the unexamined assumptions around the "corporate dream", which I found pervasive at all levels of the curriculum. Too complex to go into here, but essentially...

Most business schools are in the business of selling the corporate dream and training future managers in the arts of profit maximization, organizational efficiency, competitive advantage, and market penetration. Rarely do they ever address the human reality of corporate downsizing, except as economic data points relevent to the afore mentioned topics.

The Sales Adventure Guide is a practical manual on how to cut through the corporate BS, understand the true meaning behind management-speak, and know how to cover your butt when your job is on the line, through no fault of your own. It uncovers the tactics, often unethical and sometimes illegal, that HR and upper management will use to make you go away, meekly, without costing the company a penny.

The Sales Adventure Guide will help you probe underneath the company's glossy exterior and public face, by showing you how you can ask the right questions and find out important information about the organization you will be contracting your time to.

This book will teach you how to protect yourself, play the corporate game with finesse, and enjoy your life, rather than feel browbeaten at the company's ingratitude towards the days, months, years of your life you gave them - which you will never, ever get back.

Corporate loyalty is a myth, most companies will lay you off without a second thought. Read this book, understand that we are all contractors now.

I visited the Salton Sea to photograph birds and found it impossible to describe, telling friends they had to go there themselves to experience the place and the people. Now I tell them to read this book. From the creation of the Sea to the creation of Salvation Mountain, deBuys tells it's colorful history in a prose that fills you with the sounds and smells and people of the Sea and Imperial Valley. Anyone with an interest in man's unlimited folly, vision, corruption, and the coming environmental train-wreck in southern California needs to read this book.

*Winner of the 2000 Norris and Carol Hundley Award from The Pacific Coast Branch of the American Historical Association.

*Winner of the 1999 Western States Book Award for Creative Non-Fiction. *Winner of the 1999 Clements Prize for the Best Non-Fiction Book on Southwestern America.

Bravo! Salt Dreams is the first of its kind to wrap up all of the issues surrounding the Salton Sea and Colorado River delta in one volume. The best since Cadillac Desert in its cinematic portrayal of a complicated host of issues. Awesome writing on the heroism of US Fish and Wildlife staff. My only criticism is that Congressman George Brown is slighted; Sonny Bono often called him "Mr. Salton Sea". Certainly, a book Mr. Brown would have loved.

Superlative read revealing the vast natural beauty of the desert and its inhabitants and man's irreversable errors in judging it as a fallen Eden. Together with Cadillac Desert it ranks as a southwest water classic. Beautiful writing and stunning photographs.