Travel Books

What a beautiful book! I'm sure that every state would love to have such a stunning pictorial review. Anderson is a master.

Idaho Discovered does an incredible job of capturing the beauty of Idaho in pictures. The pictures are breathtaking and the quality of the book is outstanding. I would highly recommend this book!

Idaho is one of our scenic treasures. This book doesn't really do it justice. There is something lacking in many of the photos and I wonder if it isn't in the printing. A lot of the photos lack 'pop'. I would like to compare the book to the originals. It is a nice collection of images from around the state giving you an idea of the variety of scenery available in Idaho.

I truly "discovered" Idaho in this book. Having spent several years of my high school days in Northern Idaho, I didn't ever dream that such beauty surrounded me. I have since traveled over alot of the state, country and some foreign countries, and have been astounded at the scenery which had been practically in my back yard. There were landscapes that were breathtaking and Anderson's ability to capture the most minute detail of each one was magnificant. Of course, skiing, hiking and biking to some of these locations was an added bonus that most people don't have the opportunity to experience. I discovered this book on [the photographer's] website...

As a native Idahoan, this is the first book I have ever found that truly represents the entire state. Idaho is a very diverse landscape and a huge area to cover by any means of transportation. Kirk Anderson's commitment to intimately discover and share his Idaho journey is a gift to all who know or wish to know this beautiful state. The photography proves to be of the highest caliber. Great !

Havnt quite finished reading but this is an interesting journal of the events experienced, people encountered and travels of Mr. Stephens as he visits Central America.

This is a Must read for anyone with even a passing interest in the mayan culture. Still easy to read even though it was written over 150 years ago! Imagine you are one of the first explores to adventure into the the jungles of the Yucatan and vist the ancient cities hidden in the jungle. I wish I had read this book before My trip to the Yucatan, would have made my trip that much more enjoyable! The Catherwood engravings are spectacular!

I realize that not everyone shares my taste in literature, but if you are an armchair adventurer (or a real adventurer) with a refined sense of humor, I guarantee you will thoroughly enjoy this book, as well as Volume II. Many evenings, after a grueling day in the office, John L. Stephens transported me to another place and time with his excellent gift for writing, eye for detail and sense of humor that frequently had me waking my poor spouse with irrepressible laughter. As an author, explorer and humorist with the subtlest of wits, I place Stephens in the ranks with Mark Twain, and that is the ultimate compliment. Enjoy.

I think this book is fascinating for two types of people:
- Those who are interested in the history of Central America, who will see in Stephens a witness of time
- Those very familiar with Central America's geography (specially Guatemala's), who will enjoy reading Stephens' descriptions of many places that (in their majority) still exist

In 1839, at 34, John L. Stephens was appointed as "United States Minister" - a sort of US envoy - for Central America (which at the time was still one country). Stephens was a serial traveler: 5 years ago, he had visited Eastern Europe (Greece, Turkey, Russia and Poland) and the Middle East (Egypt and Syria), and had already published a couple of books about these trips.

Stephens decided to combine his diplomatic duty with his interest in searching for Mayan ruins in the region. By October, he embarked with his friend Frederick Catherwood (another extensive traveller) in a trip that would take them to what was (already) a politically convulsed region.

At the time, Central America was filled with political turmoil. The largest state of the country, Guatemala, had basically fallen in the hands of Rafael Carrera, a non-educated peasant. Carrera refused to recognize the authority of Francisco Morazán who, based in San Salvador, was at least in theory, the President of the Central American confederation. Rumours, political intrigues and suspicions abounded at the time.

And so, in this setting, Stephens got into a boat, and after a few days in Belize, travelled (by boat again) to the Caribbean shore of Guatemala. He entered the country through Rio Dulce and touched land in a small village in the shores of the Izabal Lake.

Starting there, Stephens made a trip, generally by mule's back, that took him to Zacapa, Chiquimula, Copan (in Honduras), Esquipulas, Guastatoya, Guatemala City (already established by then where it is now), Antigua Guatemala, Escuintla, Iztapa (in the Pacific shores) and Amatitlán. He later took a boat and went to El Salvador, and then to Costa Rica, where he disembarked and returned to Guatemala by land.

Apparently, Stephens was one of the first "adventure tourists" of modern times. He ascended many volcanoes and spent a considerable time in Copan, cleaning up the forrest that was still covering the ruins and helping his friend Catherwood to draw reproductions of the ruins (these drawings are included in the book). In addition, and as part of his diplomatic duties, he met some of the leading political figures of the time, like Carrera himself.

Stephens not only did all the above, but ended up writing a very nice and enjoyable book that describes very well what he saw and thought at the time.

In short, this book is a rare jewel that allows the reader to better imagine how was life and nature in Central America in the middle of the XIX century.

(Note: the review above is based on Volume I - a book that curiously did not exist in Amazon's inventory at the time of my reading in 2005. Being respectful of my own past review, I havent' changed it. The next paragraphs though, are 2007 additions in which I comment on Volume 2)

If the reader enjoyed Vol 1, she/he will surely find Vol 2 a satisfying read. Vol 2 starts in Nicaragua, and continues in El Salvador, where Mr Stephens continues in his search of a Central American government. I will not delve into the details of all of Mr Stephens' adventures. Suffice it to say that he gets to meet the recently defeated Francisco Morazán, meets Rafael Carrera (again), travels through the Guatemalan western highlands, gets to know the story of the Los Altos state, crosses the border to Mexico, visits Palenque and Uxmal, finally returning to the US.

Its particularly interesting to read Stephens' account of Carrera and his young government. The fact that Carrera was even known at the time as the King of the Indians is an interesting point to notice -any reader knowledgeable with Guatemala's history and societal dynamics could extrapolate this to many events of the past 50 years.

Also interesting is Stephens' rebuttal of previous accounts regarding the difficulty of visiting ruins like the ones in Palenque. The more widely known stories at the time created the impression that visiting the ruins was full of dangers. Always the practical and matter-of-factly adventurer, Stephens bluntly says that they are (were) untrue, and that the greatest hardships he and Mr Catherwood endured were due to the unstable revolutionary state of the countries.

If the reader is interested or has knowledge of archaeology, he/she must also know that Vol 2 has plenty detailed descriptions and diagrams prepared by Mr Catherwood (who in my opinion was a very gifted artist, being able to draw the intrincated details of many Mayan ruins).

I strongly recommend Vol 2 to anyone interested in Central American history, archaeology, the mayans, or true old-fashioned adventure travel.

This is a must read for any one with an interest in the ancient Mayan culture an ruin sites. the other reviewers have summed this book up great, but I just wanted to throw in my two cents.

This book offers an excellent insite to the period at the tail end of the beaver trapping erra of the "Mountain Men".

This well-known and highly-regarded account of the life of a fur trapper in the Rocky Mountain West was born as a corrective by its author of an earlier narrative (Pattie's PERSONAL NARRATIVE) that he thought was filled with inaccuracies. Osborne Russell spent eight years as a trapper in the employ of a number of fur companies before becoming an independent trapper working out of Fort Hall. Fortunately, when he first went to the mountains with Nathaniel Wyeth's expedition in 1834, he began to keep a journal. From his journal he compiled a manuscript for publication; it's from this manuscript that the present book is based on. Osborne had a tendency to run sentences together and to practice unconventional language usage, all of which editor Aubrey Haines retains in this edition. One quickly gets used to it, however.

Russell was an acute observer and, especially in describing his travels, was careful to mention distances and names (streams, mountains, etc.) when possible. Haines has been able to trace Russell's travels accurately, and ten accompanying maps illustrate his wanderings. (Haines's annotations are also numerous and thorough.) He trapped for a time with Jim Bridger, and some of what we've learned about him has direct bearings on Russell's journal accounts. In fact, Russell's book is the major source of information for a number of important events in the Rockies during this time. He also writes about the Indians (especially the Crows, Blackfeet, and Snakes) and much about the animals found in the West. Most of all, he tries hard to convey the life of a trapper - scouting the country, the laying of traps, hunting for game, dealing with the weather and terrain, the rendezvous experience (Russell attended six of them) - all the everyday routines trappers went through. This indeed is the most valuable thing about the book. Russell left the mountains in 1842 and settled in Oregon City; after an unsuccessful run for governor in 1845, he wrote his manuscript for JOURNAL OF A TRAPPER. He got the gold fever in 1848 and went to California, where he became a merchant. After his partner ran off with the company funds, Russell spent the rest of his life trying to pay off the creditors. He died near Placerville in 1892.

This is a must-read book for anyone interested in the fur trade period of the trans-Mississippi West. It's gone through many editions and always seems to stay in print, thank heaven. Highly recommended.

There's not much that one can add to this list of great reviews. That's what kind of book this is. I found it remarkable how quickly the landscape changed in those 10 years regarding populations of Native Americans, buffalo, and beaver. In the last few entries we begin to see some of the damage done upon the Native Americans i.e. small pox, alcohol, and lifestyle and it's very depressing. Likewise, Osborne describes the plummet in buffalo populations and the approaching end of the fur quest as beaver populations dwindled and other furbearers were becoming more profitable. These were a rugged bunch of men and this is perhaps the best look into their lives and into the changed and vanished West.

Osborne Russell was never one of the elite of the Mountain Men. He spent most of his time in the mundane tasks of cooking, cleaning, and other camp chores while on trapping expeditions. But he wrote one of the best accounts -- certainly one of the most accurate -- of the peregrinations and the exciting events in the life of a Mountain Man. Osborne was in the Northern Rockies between 1834-1943 and was a minor participant in many expeditions and fights with the Blackfeet.

Editor Haines has compiled the routes of Russell's travel in 10 maps and added explanatory notes to his narrative. However, a lot more could be done to make this book more readable. First, there are no chapter or paragraph divisions to ease the task of the reader. It's even hard to keep track of what year Russell is talking about. Secondly, there is room for many, many more footnotes and explanations of what Russell was doing and when and where.

We need a new edition of Russell's work which will make it more accessible to the reader. This old edition is invaluable if you are a student of the Mountain Man, but the casual reader will bog down.

Smallchief

This is by far one of the best books that a fur trade re-enactor can read. It is also a must read for the modern beaver trapper as well. Osborne describes the everyday events of the fur brigades in their heyday. If you are a buckskinner, living historian, trapper or just an old west history buff then this is a MUST have!

This book arrived in top condition and in time. In a college book store this book cost a lot more, so I am very pleased to be able to buy it from this seller.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the descriptive way the author wrote. I have been through Colorado and have seen the beauty she described. Also enjoyed the story because there wasn't a lot of violence and if there was any sex, it was only in our imagination which is the greatest kind. I was amazed at how the lady rode for miles in rugged wilderness without seeming to get lost. The fact that she could subsist on meager food was also interesting.

For many years I saw this book in National Park bookstores and passed it by thinking it would be an example of the overwritten, rather tedious journals of other Victorian travelers. When I finally found it at a used bookstore and rather reluctantly bought it, I was surprised to find out how exciting and relevant her story was.

Because I live in Colorado, I recoginize and travel through many of the places she describes. Just this weekend as we traveled along Highway 67, my husband and I remarked on the likelihood, that this was the same route she'd taken out of Colorado Springs.

Her accounts lend life to the grey, weatherbeaten cabins, abandoned roads and rusting rails that we see. Even though many parts of Europe and the US were relatively modern at the time of her adventures, it is surprising to read just how primitive and precarious was the life of many Colorado settlers.

Even if you aren't from Colorado, read this book to become aquainted with a Victorian woman who found a way to live life fully. Read it to learn about life in the west. Read it just because it's a good read.

I bought this book while visiting Estes Park, CO...hungry for books about life in the West that may not be so readily available here in NJ. I found it to be one of the most enjoyable books I have ever read! Isabella's descriptions of the Rocky Mountains and the climate through which she travelled are vivid and gripping. But more than that, she gives a detailed and honest account of what life was like for settlers on the frontier. How she managed to ride thru the mountains where the only "trails" were tracks of wagons or animals, when often those were covered with the seemingly constant snow, boggles the mind. Her love for Colorado sings out in every word she writes. I too was deeply touched by its beauty, and hope to return again, this time with an enriched appreciation due to this wonderful recounting of Isabella Bird's journey.

Did you ever read any of the BEANY MALONE novels by Lenora Mattingly Weber? In them I first read about Isabella Bird and her remarkable life in the American West. Beany's older brother, Johnny Malone, is a teenager when the series begins, a young Denver boy with a remarkable passion for unearthing the memoirs and daguerrotypes of Colorado pioneers and taking notes on the old-timers who settled the state. Their colorful lives make his ordinary life seem rather pastel, so he often sinks into a nostalgia of the past, while his family members tease him about the dreamy look in his eyes. He helps a veteran journalist, Emerson Worth, complete his magnum opus, OUR CITY HAS DEEP ROOTS. And among the pioneers Johnny obsessed about was none other than Isabella Bird, so when I found this book on a recent trip to Boulder, I added it to my rucksack.

If you are reading on horseback, as Isabella Bird did, this is perhaps the ideal book to carry with you. She was a woman used to the English-style horse with its Ascot breeding and high carriage. What she found in Colorado were, naturally, the horses of the West, more perfectly adapted to the mile-high atmospheres, but slung somewhat lower than anything she's been used to and slightly swaybacked. Bird adapted quickly, and the fun of her autobiography is to see her taking in her stride a series of calamities and hardships that would have Job complaining bitterly! No matter if it's an insect infestation or tumbling right through a sheet of ice into zero degree river chills, for Isabella Bird it's all part of a day's fun. Travel writing in the 19th century was, of course, the leading genre of prose. From no other source were English-speaking readers able to find out more about other people's lives, and the curiosity was immense.

You'll like Isabella, and her crazy love affair with Colorado. She remains very much a lady, but will challenge your preconceived notions of what a lady is and isn't. Most of all you will thrill to follow the course of her journeys up and down the mountains through which, now, there are some better trails but still the same amazing sunrises which she describes with the thrill of one for whom every day's an adventure.

I read The Living Great Lakes at least two or three years ago and subsequently gave my copy to a client relocating from New Jersey to Michigan. I just bought my second copy to re-read and add back to my permanent library. This book is an enormous pleasure trip from beginning to end. The author lives and breathes the Great Lakes. As someone who was born and bred along the lakeshore of West Michigan, I can tell he really "gets" the soul of the dunes and the lakes and how vital, how beautiful, and how important our Great Lakes are in our lives. A huge thumbs up!

As a displaced Michigander, I am often amazed that westerners are almost completely unfamiliar with the Great Lakes. This book would be best enjoyed by those familiar with the region. But even the less familiar will enjoy the gripping adventure found in the many anecdotes offered here. I am on my second read and can't believe how much I had forgotten from my first read. There are stories that will nearly bring you to tears (the near disaster on the day of the Edmund Fitz sinking) and some that will simply amaze. This should be required reading for all school children from this region. Those less fortunate who live elsewhere will still enjoy the enlightening read. And while it certainly encourages protection of the lakes, I didn't find it preachy. It is a very objective book and doesn't dwell too much on the environment.

If there is a better book on the great lakes I haven't found it.

An enthusiastic outdoorsman, Dennis has written a comprehensive book on the Great Lakes from the perspective of personal experience, scientific data and historical background. He describes the area in its early pristine beauty, from the Indian tribes to the first European settlers and the dawning of industrialization that almost destroyed this natural preserve of geology, flora, fauna and indigenous species. With attention to the tales of the past, Dennis writes of the gradual evolution of natural beauty into a vast resource for lumber, farm products, shipping and related industries, including the influx of a population that has grown around opportunity, all imbued with the awesome grandeur of these vast bodies of water.

On a four-week voyage through the Great Lakes, Dennis views the area from the water, as opposed to his many travels along the shorelines, the exhausting, but fulfilling days on board filled with the lore of the sea, new friendships make while sailing and the eccentric individuals met along the way. Couched in contemporary terms, the author speaks of the past with reverence, his love of history enhanced by regional details, tales of shipwrecks and the personal observations of a man with great reverence for the bounty of this immense body of water and those who live on the miles of coastline that make up the Great Lakes. History is tangible in Dennis's work, impossible to ignore as the men navigate from one lake to another, reminded daily of the pitfalls of ignoring nature and the pleasures of communing with the elements.

The comprehensive chapters cover: Lake Michigan, from land and water; the Straights of Mackinac; Lake Superior, canoeing, the early voyagers, surviving storms; Lake Huron, Georgian Bay and the wilderness; St. Claire River; Lake Ontario, the Erie Canal and the Hudson River. Each chapter addresses relevant information but is complemented by stories, for example, the "White City" constructed in Jackson Park for the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893, the disappearance of an entire fishing village on the shores of lake Michigan, victim of "walking dunes", Sault Ste. Marie and the rapids of the St. Mary's and The Soo Locks. His eye on an ever-changing environment, Dennis paints a fascinating portrait of nature's bounty in the Great Lakes, past and present, ever vigilant for the dangers of pollution, overuse and the avarice of industrialization: "Bracketed by mysteries, adrift, alone, despairing of our ignorance, we turn to the physical because there, at least, we can know a thing for certain." This is out legacy and the key to the future of a national treasure. Luan Gaines/ 2006.

I really enjoyed this book because it covers a wide range of topics from sailing to environmentalism to North American history to geology.

As a lifelong citizen of the Great Lakes in Rochester, NY and Chicago, IL, I was surprised at how much I didn't already know -- and that the book taught me.

Purchased the book because I'm considering a retirement along Lake Ontario and am an avid sailor. The book is centered around the relocation of a Ferro cement schooner from Michigan through the lakes to Lake Ontario, onward down the Hudson and around New England. Along the journey, are many mini stories added for each lake taken from a combination of personal adventures, history and many interesting collection of facts coveraging a wide range of subjects from geology, their early exploration, later exploitation and related environmental problems. My only mild dissapointment is there was not more on Lake Ontario. The trip ends in along the coast of Maine where I was raised. It's a delightful book.

This is a great book by a tremendously talented writer. The geographic range of Peters' journeys is vast but his tone is engagingly familiar, like an old friend holding forth on the world as he met it, and as it met him. While his medium is language, Peters has the perspective of a visual artist, able to capture a single moment that distils the zenith and nadir of a country's history. He is equally capable of finding the humorous heart of any situation, no matter how unpromising a prospect that may seem. This book is brimming with great stories, poignant moments, and more passages than I can count that made me laugh to near tears. Humor leavens the keen eye Peters casts on a threatened and threatening world. its too often reckless governments and their hapless agents.

I'd advise anyone considering the book not to be put off by a review or two here that perhaps imply it will appeal to only those of a distinctly conservative bend. The author's insights will surprise, delight, engage, and yes, sometimes provoke those of all political persuasions because Peters himself met the world head on, prepared to be surprised, delighted, engaged and provoked.

I cannot understand how the ten previous reviewers gave this book five stars. If I had to guess, I would say that either they are all friends of the author, or that they appreciate his far right perspective on the world. Although I prefer to write short reviews, there are so many examples of the book's flaws, that merely listing examples will take considerable space and words.

A short review, without examples, would list the following flaws:
1. The generally negative and nasty tone of the author.
2. The superficial nature of his observations.
3. An awful writing style, which can only be described as a modern day Bulwer-Lytton trying to write like Raymond Chandler.

The author does have some valid and interesting points to make on missing POW/MIA's, the drug trade in third world countries, and the political situation in the Pakistani military.

Unfortunately these small points are embedded in a narrative where the author (usually accompanied by an amusing and amazing side-kick) is traveling in awful cars/planes/trains to awful places, full of awful people, eating awful foods, drinking too much disgusting alcoholic beverage of one kind or another, experiencing awful smells, and sleeping in awful hotels with awful service, before moving on to more of the same. All too infrequently, the narrative is brightened by some sentimental and touching observations about some sympathetic women or some not awful architecture. I am generally at a loss to understand how a person who has enough intelligence and musical understanding to contrast the difference between the suave subtleties of Maria Joao Pires and the spikey vigor of Martha Argerich in the performance of Beethoven sonatas could have written this book; but that's the nature of the human mind.

If you are interested in learning about the countries of central Asia, formerly included in the Soviet Union, I would recommend reading either Robert Kaplan The Ends of the Earth: A Journey at the Dawn of the Twenty-first Century or Colin Thubron The Lost Heart of Asia (P.S.).

Examples of Col. Peter's dislikes:
Istanbul: Istanbul may "look West," but it does so over one shoulder as its spirit staggers east. Having killed or driven out the Armenians, Greeks and Jews who supplied it with genius....P. xi

Take your pick: Russian men are hopeless, Arab in their assumption of male privilege, medieval in their appetites, Celtic in their weakness for daydreams, and Persian in their disdain for honest work. P.30

Our State Department: ...the embassy in Moscow, a hen-house of bureaucrats who loved to peck their own kind. P.78 (See also P.172 & 224)

Belgrade: Belgrade was a pit. ... The people I met were surly and fearful - unless they were drunk, ... P.87

Intellectuals: The least savory human being is the "man of ideas." P.88

Serbs: That was my first introduction to the lethargy of the Serb mind. P.93

Scandinavians: Rhodes, one of those islands where Scandinavians pack in like sardines and boil themselves like lobsters. ... boisterous drunkards ... bred north of the Alps. P.101

Anybody associated with the Clinton administration: See P. 146, 263, 286, 315, 316, 317 & 326

Tajikistan & Kyrgyzstan: Tajikistan is chronically broken, while Kyrgyzstan's chronically bumbling. P. 149

Peoples of the Caucasus: The Azeris welcome foreigners eagerly, wondering what they can gain from the acquaintance. Erratic Muslims, they then get drunk and forget to ask for the favor. Georgians are hearty, but lapse visibly into their calculations when the think you aren't watching. ... [Armenians], too, would gladly profit from knowing you ... but they're too proud to beg. P.173

Saudis: Everywhere, the Saudis took an interest in human suffering only if it offered them an entry point for missionary activities. P. 204 In my experience, no power on earth has done more harm to civilization over the past generation than Saudi Arabia. P.205

Bolshoi ballerinas: ...backstage at the Bolshoi, where the decay was as startling as the vulgarity of the pimply ballerinas. P.225

Pakistani tastes in architecture and interior decoration: ...West-aping furnishing and knickknacks that can best be described as trailer-court neo-classical. ...the Paks [sic] chose the worst of the West. Even the huge Faisal Mosque ... owes more of its design to shiny trinkets won at an amusement park, than to Islam's building heritage. Islamabad is a geometrically plotted concentration of ostentatious mansions as unbalanced in design as they are in morality. P.253

Urdu: Urdu, a congealed barracks language, ... P.256

English as spoken in America's inner cities: ... our own inner cities, where competitive English is no longer spoken and the inchoate victims of an indulgent educational system find themselves unable to share in the wealth of a society that demands English-based literacy ... P.256

British officers : ...the Pakistanis officer corps traditionally has been an educational elite, as well, which is an accusation impossible to level at British officers. P.258

U.S. flag officers [Generals & Admirals]: The [Pakistani] generals in power now speak better English than do most U.S. flag officers and understand the world beyond their borders with broad sophistication. P.258

India: ...no friend of U.S. interests, and a country that has dismembered Pakistan in a series of wars. P.261

Islam: The Islamic world between Morocco and Pakistan is so fraught with male fear, self-doubt, self-loathing, and reality avoidance that it has condemned itself to endless mediocrity. P.280

Arabs, Persians and Paks [sic]: The levels of civilizational [sic] performance are so disparate that the self-aggrandizing fantasies of Arabs, Persians and Paks constitute their only sources of dignity. Like children, they make it all up. P.287

Examples of Col. Peter's writing style:
Moscow survived centuries of misrule, invasion, and lethal philosophy by hunching its shoulders and plodding onward, never without a worried backward glance. P.28

With a long-dead writer. P30

Measure the difference between an enemy's mundane existence and his self-image, and you arrive at the shortest distance your bullet need travel. P.45

The green hills seemed sloppy drunk in their lushness,... P.72

Grimy and shabby though it was before Margaret Thatcher spanked it and gave it a scrub, London was good to me. P.85

July grimed the air. P88

We talked about the United States and its disinterest in soccer, ... P.89

We rode through the poor country in evening light, throbbing over the rails. P.90

The landscape was visual cocaine. P.96

Dusty and inert, the town outside the main gate sprawled across the desert like an old dog in a coma. P.96

Refusing to look back. P.110

Congealed heat settled on our cots like winter blankets. P.138

Moscow in winter smelled of armpits and crotches and automobiles exhaust. P.225

As light as a flirt's fingertips, evening soothed the bare skin of our forearms. P.227

We flew on through a clear sky on a skillet afternoon. P.236

...the brown valleys had the look of skin around an old man's eyes. P.263

What a treat to have this insight - through the brilliant eyes of Ralph Peters - into a decade or more of change across a part of the world that was considered rough when the Polo brothers crossed it and has improved little since. As an intelligence officer dedicated to his own education, Peters, often accompanied by military colleagues, recounts his stories and observations during days spent crisscrossing the "broken world" of areas that would soon break away from the former Soviet Union, and of the rough border areas - places like Turkey, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Balkans.

This is a work unlike Peters' more recent books in that it focuses on his travels and adventures rather than on geopolitical forecasts and military analysis. In that aspect it quickly captures even the most casual reader and zips him though the pages with the pacing of an old-fashioned adventure yarn. However, those readers who have become spoiled by Peters' excellent writing will get their fill and more in this book. His lyricism, skill with metaphor both biting and poetic, scalpel-like analysis, and ability to turn an awful situation into side-splitting humor season every page.

One of the most valuable aspects of Peters' book is the x-ray vision it provides into a decaying Soviet system that is now rising out if its coffin like Dracula. Following Peters into Georgia, for example, with the border hostility, internecine rivalries, and revanchist Russian spirit - visible even then - makes one realize that his observations are as pointed and relevant now as they were at the time.

Looking for Trouble wanders around a part of the world that few know - none with Peters' perspicacity - and are rarely visited, yet that are burning fuses on today's powder-keg politics. Want to understand present day Georgia-Russia issues? Look here to find root causes. Same with Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Central Asia.

The truths that Peters reveals are as appealing and valuable as is the beauty of his presentation. This is a must-read book for anyone who has a spirit of adventure, a sense of history, and a desire to learn about the issues that stampede across our headlines and threaten to overwhelm.

Buy this book immediately. It is too good to wait! Then make sure you get a couple and send to your friends. You will be their new hero just as Ralph Peters will be yours.

I had never heard of--much less read--Ralph Peters before this book. And, although I was a Military Intelligence officer 35 years ago, I never served with him or anyone else mentioned in the book or in the other reviews. Only through a recent review of this book in The Denver Post was I introduced to Ralph Peters and his writings (some of us are apparently still rather isolated from New York periodicals out here in the Wild West despite Hunter Thompson having lived, and died, in "Glitter Gulch").

So, I was more than surprised to find a former OCS-trained, Russian-speaking spook from a coal mining town in Pennsylvania to be so incredibly literary. Talk about a soldier who squeezed every drop of juice from his military career; Uncle Sugar should be proud. And, not only literary, he had me going from hilarious laughter to tears at the turn of a single page. What a life he has created for himself! Rudyard Kipling had nothing on Ralph Peters.

Peter's word pictures of the areas he has traveled through often reminded me more of Edward Abbey's descriptions of the Canyonlands region than of Kipling's of India. He also expresses Abbey's disdain for "alphabet soup" agencies of the Federal government, although he had to deal with a considerably different portion of the alphabet than did Abbey. However, Abbey didn't particularly like people (an understatement, I know), which certainly can't be said of Ralph Peters, who is as keen a participant in life as he is an observer of his fellow man.

This book fascinated me so much that, even before finishing it, I downloaded and read his prescient 1998 Army War College article on "Our New Old Enemies." Now I have one of his early fiction books on order. Already I can tell that this is going to be a "Ralph Peters" autumn!

I always enjoy reading Ralph Peters' writing. He has such a fresh take on the subjects he writes about that it can be jarring. However, once you take the time to think about it you are better off having considered his thinking whether you end up agreeing with him or not. This book has the especially nice benefit of being funny as well as insightful, informative, and challenging. Peters can write in a delightfully entertaining fashion while writing about matters that are serious at their core. This is no mean feat. I mean, how can you not love a chapter on the War on Drugs called "Elvis, Buddha, and the Burrito of the Apocalypse"? When you read the chapter, it is even funnier.

This book is a memoir of his travels around the world doing his work as an intelligence officer for the military and covers the years 1990 to 1996. The story is not told sequentially, but in a way that helps us understand our present situation in the world. We get a tour of parts of the old Soviet Union. Peters is wonderful in showing us how the cultures that the Soviets tried to suppress reasserted themselves after the USSR contracted into Russia. He is also free in his analysis about why America has so much wrong about this region (and other regions) of the world.

We even get a tour around the world when he worked for McCaffrey in battling drugs. Peters is willing to name names and discuss how the organizations responsible for fighting the War on Drugs are more interested in protecting their bureaucratic empires than in coordinating their forces and fighting effectively. Of course, Peters has also said the same things about the Pentagon many times.

This is an excellent read that will entertain you as well as give you insights into areas of the world I don't think you can get anywhere else and you also get fresh insights into America's politics.

Recommended.

Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI

Handy map, with excellent info on bus routes and all manners of public transit!!!! Can't do without this map if you're on your own and want to use public transit!

I stayed at The Red Vic in Haight-Ashbury, a little off the beaten path. This map and my weeklong muni pass paid for themselves a gabillion times. The map worked great; I was never lost. The way they depict the touristy section of Lombard Street makes me giggle.

Although not as compact, we like this better than the Pocket Pilot. This map has more detail, it just doesn't fit very well in a pocket. Because of its size, it is more readable.
Golden Gate Trailblazer: Where to Hike, Walk, Bike in San Francisco & MarinZagat San Francisco Bay Area Restaurants 2009 (Zagatsurvey: San Francisco/ Bay Area Restaurants)Newcomer's Handbook for Moving to And Living in the San Francisco Bay Area: Including San Jose, Oakland, Berkeley, And Palo Alto (Newcomer's Handboks)

The streets go every witchway and having this map that we could pull easily out of our pack was a lifesaver. If you don't have a car, the BART and MUNI maps were also handy. People on the street saw us using it and always chimed in with extra advice.

These "streetwise" laminated maps are the best there is to get you around any city. Walking OR driving. We wore this one out on our recent trip to San Francisco.

What more can you say. Funny, accurate, and fits in your pocket. Everything you need to prepare for your Rio vacation. A great investment for guys that are traveling all the way to Brazil.

My friends and I went to Rio for a bachelors party. We had the best time and owe much of it to this book. It's anyones guess if the groom will actually go through with the wedding. One of the guys in our crew booked a hotel that was not listed as "guest friendly" and he had to pay 150 extra just to bring a girl back. Don't get ripped like that, buy the book and save the hassle.

It's a firsthand insider's perspective that you won't find in any other book: what to do, where to go, places to avoid, etc. Where to meet local women.

I saved time and money using this guide, and after my vacation can say it's accurate, and helps you find the best party spots without screwing around. If you're single or just looking to mingle, this book is what you want.

I was so surprised on how accurate this book is. Rio is a true male bachelor's paradise. One of my male friends that travels the world put me on to this book. Highly recommended to anyone who wants to be in this fraternity of world class sex tourists.

Bought after searching Amazon for a singles vacation guide.
Great book. Advice for fishing, hotels, and most importantly, sex tourism.

Complete travel advice on: visa requirements, tour companies to use, taxis, hotels, and the brothels and bars to check out. For daytime activity, you'll find all the tourist stuff as well. Short, sweet and to the point. A fun read.

If you go hunting or wild camping it is important to know what land is for public or private property. Also very useful by driving with car (any car). Easy to know which street/road are ok for different kind of vehicle, truck or motorcycle.
The size of the map could be better it is not very handy, but so you don't need to have magnifying glass to use this guide.

We bought this book with the idea of just wandering Michigan for our week of vacation. We wanted to avoid the Interstate as much as possible. This book was great for our plan! There are many roads and towns on these pages that aren't on a regular map! We really enjoyed traveling back roads, while never feeling lost.

This book is incredibly detailed and easy to use. Along with a GPS, there is nothing you cannot find. Whether an occasional traveler or a resident, this is a must to have for God's Country, Michigan's U.P.

I spend a lot of time off the beaten path. This map is great for getting there and back. Very useful. This is my third one, as I keep wearing them out.

I have been using DeLorme Atlas and Gazetteers for many states for many years. I have always found them very useful for travelling over the back roads and secondary highways as they give one detail not found on the usual road maps. They also list parks, historic sites, recreaton areas, etc. which are also very valuable when travelling in unfamiliar areas.

While I also own a GPS system for my automobile, it doesn't give you topographic detail or large area views due to the limitatons of the small GPS screen. However, I find using both the DeLorme Maps and the GPS system to make for very efficient trip planning.

This book gave me mant great ideas on what to do to make my own garden look as nice as the ones in the pictures. They were all so colorful and beautiful. Anyone who is a gardener like myself would enjoy the book as much as i did.

I recently had to do a project on different types of plants and gardens, for my biology class. This book was very helpful, and allowed me to complete my project. The photographs were beautiful, and enjoyable to look at. I would very enthusiastically recommend this book to anyone interested in gardening. It was a great book!

Mary, Mary quite contrary, How does your garden grow? With silver bells and cockle shells, And pretty maids all in a row. The gardens Mary Zuazua describe grow not with silver bells or cockle shells but with a super profusion of color and form. All of us have a garden somewhere buried back down deep in their souls. Like the taste of Proust's madeleine soaked in lime flowers conjured up images of the past,these photos conjure up images of past gardens, real or idealized. Mine a Spanish garden,once lush and verdant,to another an English garden formal, ordered and sterile. But such is the power of these images if one has dreams to dream.

"Small enough to travel with and detailed enough to learn from, this book is a must for the garden loving traveler". THE AMERICAN GARDENER

I have visited hundreds of gardens on four continents and, at a national level, this guide is the most pleasing to the eye and has the best general descriptions of gardens and their histories that I have used. It is a powerful incentive to travel, and a most useful guide for finding the best public gardens on one's route.