Travel Books

Well written with lots of beneficial information. Not all of it is relative but all of it has it's purpose. It definitely gives those of us who are interested in touring food for thought.

This is a fantastic book about the realities of bike touring. Everything you need to know about the appropriate equipment, the countries, road conditions, visas, weather, etc. I couldn't put it down.

In the mid 1970's when I was a kid my mom gave me a coffee table book on bicycling. I forget the title and author and the book is long gone. In it was a section on "bikepacking" as cycle touring was coined back then. It was the inspiration for a life of traveling by bicycle. Stephen Lord's "Adventure Cycle-Touring Handbook" will do the same for countless others with a spirit of adventure, but the information contained within is invaluable. No more learning the hardway. Pay attention to what is written and know yourself; you will go a long way. Like the Patagonia cataloges of the era in which I grew up and the Bridgestone Bicycle cataloges of the era in which I matured, this book will be coveted by those in the know and become treasured and collected. If you've ever toured, read it and know what I mean. If you haven't, pick up a copy and hit the road.

I thought this book was very through, from gear selection, to stories to get you excited go on a trip. I would recommend it to any long-distance dreaming cycler.

This is a great book. The 3 sections allow riders to learn about adventure travel according to the mood they are in. I used the bike recommendations to buy the Volpe. Great purchase. Warning: this book will encourage you to travel. Wish list: a web site like crazyguyonabike.com so readers can keep abreast of updates. Cheers Lord. Nice job.

"... contains a great deal of useful information on outdoor activities." Prodigy Travel Board

"Leonard Adkins has done it again! Clear, easy-to-read maps and crisp photos make the book visually interesting.... It's a must for anyone who loves to hike, bike or auto-tour in the Old Dominion." Charleston Daily Mail

"Virginia's 'something for everybody' is well revealed in Adkins' descriptions." Bon Voyage

"This is the ultimate guide to romantic weekend getaways." San Antonio Express

This highly detailed travel guide covers the entire state, from Virginia Beach to the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Great Dismal Swamp. All the best hikes, canoe trails, whitewater routes, from an author who has hiked the Appalachian Trail from start to finish three times! This is a book for all seasons, taking you from the sun-drenched shores in the summer to the ever-beautiful hills bathed in fall color to the snow-covered peaks that offer winter fun. Scenic drives are recommended, so you can catch the best of Virginia on film, if you wish. Places to stay and eat to suit all tastes and budgets. Sightseeing sections tell you of the best attractions.

Adventures in the Ditch is a great read and educational as well. Being from the west coast, I was not familar with the intercostal waterway. Jon's Adventures provided a vivid picture of the ups and down of navigating the ICW. Jon has a gift of storytelling. From the beginning of the journey until the return home, the book was a "page turner". By the end, I felt like I had made the journey myself. It is a fantastic read.

If you've ever dreamed of taking on the East Coast Inland Waterway or have already done so you'll really enjoy this book. More than just a tale of bonding with his father and brother on the trip from Annapolis to Miami, Coile's descriptions (often comedic) detail the triumphs and pitfalls of the trip south and made me feel like I was actually along for the ride. Ingenious repairs to unforeseen problems, incidents requiring medical attention, a family depending on one another to successfully complete the trip; Coile covers it all. Couldn't put the book down until the Griffin was back in her home berth.

I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly I was drawn
in by your yarn. The honest revelations about your hopes for bonding
with both your father and your brother are well expressed and
engaging. I kept reading, wondering if you'd ever get just the right
crisis that would bring you all together without killing or maiming
one of you. I'm very glad everyone lived and, like you, I sure hope
Andrew doesn't go bald anytime soon.

I read the book avidly until Russell got off Griffin and went home
with a courtly "good bye". Then I sorta skipped ahead to the 25 tips.
I later returned to finish up the story with all the final hair-raising
misadventures which Russell and Andrew wisely skipped out on.

I was able to apply my new knowledge of the ICW last evening at the
Western Sea Kayakers holiday party. A frequent topic of conversation
was the recent mishap at Pt. Lobos in which one of our less
experienced members came out of her kayak and ended up taking a rather
long swim. She wrote up the incident on our forum and we've been
giving her perfect advice (with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight) ever
since.

Someone at the party said she remembered being on a 2-man
jet ski in Florida, in a protected waterway, looking at manatees, and
then her partner suggesting they head through a gap into the open
ocean. Conditions changed dramatically, as they had for our friend
Eva when she exited Bluefish Cove into Carmel Bay and found herself
facing the force of a stronger breeze (gusting up to 30 mph) and the
resulting wind waves (which had steepened to the point of breaking).

A wag at the party who overheard the story said the woman must have
been on the Gulf side of Florida because she reported seeing
manatees. I said, "Well, I believe there are manatees in the intra-
coastal-waterway on the Atlantic side of Florida. At least, I know
for sure that there are reduced speed zones there in order to protect
manatees." Boy did I feel knowledgeable, especially for a guy who has
never been to Florida.

So, thanks for creating the trip and the resultant book. I can't think
of anything more worthwhile than doing either one.

I thoroughly enjoyed Adventures in the Ditch. Crisp writing and well-drawn characters make Jon Coile's memoir a must-read for anyone with even a hint of familial dysfunction. I bought this as a gift and kept it for myself. Bravo!

Adventures in the Ditch is a compelling story of family relationships tested to the limit on a journey on the Intracoastal Waterway. Written in an engaging, self-deprecating style by an experienced naval officer, the book chronicles a trip, alternately nail-biting and hilarious, on the "Ditch," and introduces a roster of fascinating characters, from the author's aging father, to a brash co-worker with dreams of adventure, to an old salt whose expert advice saves the day at a critical moment. Along with the fun and family insights, the author provides technical asides, so well constructed and beautifully explained that he thrilled this non-technical, non-boating reviewer. This book launches readers on a terrific journey with a skilled captain; step aboard!

I LOVE humorous travel books but they are far and few between. I bought this book on sale and was pleasantly surprised. I laughed my way through the whole book. I will be sure to pick up anything else from him now!

I can not say enough about this book. I absolutely loved it. I am a Geography teacher and I am ordering a class set for my classroom. I think my students will fall in love with this book the same way I did. You should buy this book without even thinking twice. You will laugh and learn so much about the world from first hand experience. Enjoy and BUY IT!!!!!!!!!!

I bought this book at an airport bookstore before a fight from Miami to Paris. Unfortunately for the passengers seated near me, I laughed out loud all the way across the Atlantic. And my laughter is kind of obnoxious, or so my friends say. Some of the stories were so funny I almost wet my pants. Thanks, Hester, for making my flight more enjoyable.

I really liked this book, it's one of my favorite in the genre of travel writing, with some very funny stories from the author's travels. I do wish he took more of a postive approach though, it seems nine out of ten stories show the negative side of travel, though I guess it's good to tell it like it is. Highly reccomended for a good laugh!

Former flight attendent Elliott Hester takes a leave of absence after the events of 9-11 and opts to take his own journey around the world. We are taken along on the trip with him in an assortment of amusing and embarassing anecdotes. He starts in Miami going to Argentina, South Pacific, Australia, SE Asia, India, North Africa, and into the European countries before landing back home. He regals us with stories of topless Scrabble addicts, Dehli Belly, transvestite islanders, the dangers of driving in other countries, sauna in Finland, impersonating Samuel L Jackson in Czech, and other great stories. He runs continual risks of intenstinal problems and is not above humiliating himself. All in all, this is a splendid book showing you how you too can go across the globe on $60 a day. As with most travelogues, it loses a star because the book would have been benefitted by the inclusion of photos he took on the journey. Fast and easy read, I'll be picking up future books of his.

When I first read Dispatches some years ago, I was astounded at how a 'parachuted journalist' from the Washington Post could manage to be so empathetic to his new surroundings. Harden displays a questioning and understanding of all the places he reported on in Africa that many who've lived for decades in Africa do not have.

In his travels, it's clear that Harden tries to stick his nose in and experience Africa. He is often more than an observer - he participates first-person - and is therefore able to tell a complete story without having resorting to hollow theorizing and trite conclusions as filler. His trip on the Kisangani-Kinshasa riverboat is a good example where the story and experience tells all - Harden doesn't need to tell the reader what to conclude. Same with his experiences with then President Moi of Kenya. He had the chance to talk to Moi, not just for an interview, but to discuss his deportation! Harden was always personally involved in his stories.

Coincidentally, a few years after Harden's Africa tenure, another Washington Post Africa correspondent based in Nairobi, Keith Richburg, wrote his memoirs on Africa - Out of America: A Black Man Confronts Africa. Though Out of America is a very good book, Dispatches is in another class entirely. It's a must read.

Harden, a first rate writer, researcher and observer, does an excellent job demystifying the African political diaspora with insightful anecdote and personal experience. For anyone that has lived or loved Africa this is a must read - it will remind you of everything that is wrong with Africa and everything that is unforgetable about Africa.

It's a pity that the book was written in the early nineties, since the only drawback I can point out of this work is the lack of information about the last fifteen years in the different countries (Sudan, Nigeria, Zambia, etc.) the author describes (this is not his fault, obviously!). Deeply educational, this is phenomenal journalism. If I had to pont out a chapter, the most interesting one is the one that deals with the Turkana tribe in Kenya.

From page one, I was hooked, and I'm looking forward to learning more about Africa, the forgotten continent. This was the perfect starting point.

Blaine Harden's Africa: Dispatches from a Fragile Continent is by far the most interesting book out there about Africa. It is a series of vignette-like true life examples of how the continent is imploding, thanks to "big daddies" and the west's lack of understanding about the people, cultures, values, and even geography of this underdeveloped continent. Truly a masterpeice. It should be required reading in all universities across the country. One of the BEST books I've ever read.

Harden brings one of the least reported parts of the world to light, but his reporting is now a bit out of date. It is hard to give a book this good less than five stars, but many things have happened in Africa in the last five years. I would purchase an update in a minute.

I stumbled upon Bob Greene's All Summer Long a couple of years ago when I read his "Hang Time" book about Michael Jordan. The subject matter of several friends putting everything aside for a Summer and roadtriping around the country has always been appealing to me and this story didn't disappoint. Although this is a fictional account, you really feel as if the author is recanting a journey that he actually took. I found myself really wanting to do something like this someday as well. I highly recommend this book.

Bob Greene takes you back in time to a summer that you will never forget and in his usual way tugs on the memories and heart strings that remind you of the best that was. I couldn't wait to pick it up and was upset to put it down when I was finished.

With so many authors aiming for your wife's interests, it's great to finally have a novel written for a male's summer reading enjoyment. The book is an excellent summer escape -- it will take you back to long ago times that still seem so near and will keep you hopeful about the future. If you're a fan of Greene's columns or you just want to feel better about life, then you have to read this book!

This book will take the male reader - from 18 to 80 - on a fantasy ride that will hold his interest from page one to the end. This wasn't written to be considered "literature;" it simply entertains very well and gives the reader's his money's worth.

I'm now reading it for the second time. How many books get THAT award from readers?

No wonder Bob Greene's so much more well known as a columnist than a novelist. All Summer Long, while full of good writing and interesting situations, seems to me to be self-serving and melodramatic. If only this had been written as non-fiction, I would have not only believed it, but would have respected it. Instead, I could predict what would happen pages ahead of time and kept thinking that maybe I have can have career as a novelist after all. It's just not very interesting to anyone but the characters. If I ran into any of these guys in a airport or at a ballgame or in a hotel lobby, I'd not only think them quite unspectacular, but wouldn't dig too deeply into their lives, as I'm sure I'd be bored before they got around to reliving their first "adventure."

Oh, woe is the forty-three year old Midwestern male, who can't face the reality of everyday life. Sure, there isn't a person alive who wouldn't like to take the summer off and travel, but I don't know how many of us want to do it with a bunch of people that we were really only close to 25 years ago. Forget my friends from high school, I want to take off with the people who mean something to me today -- people with whom I have something in common besides having attended the same school two and a half decades ago. This is exactly why we have reunions every five years, not every day. For the most part, they have no relevance in our daily lives.

That said, I still enjoyed the escapism this book offers. Greene offers simple, but significant insights into human nature, especially those that I imagine for men in their mid forties. The trio's travels are both funny and sad, and Greene doesn't necessarily push the reader one way or another. Things just happen and the summer is over, just like it is for you and me. And just like yours and mine, no one can really say they're interested in these sad sacks.

Greene steals the title from the Beach Boys song, although a song more representative and equally sappy might have been Terry Jacks's Seasons In The Sun. They had joy, they had fun, they had a season in the sun. Big deal.

Read this book. It draws you in because it tells you something you don't know and never thought about on just about every page. When most of us travel, we go to a specific destination, and we go there on an airplane or on an Interstate. More than anything I've read in years, this book reminds me of how much of America exists on the back roads, and of how little of it I've actually seen in my years of travel throughout the country.

I really like this book the auther really put a lot of insight into her bok and talked about the weather and hardship along the way. its a really good book

A wonderful book by a determined rider and insightful writer. Bill really knows how to engage the people and capture the sites he encounters along the way. He brings them to life with a great combination of words and photos. Best of all, Bill makes you feel like you were along for the ride.

Not only Bill's adventure, but the people, the history, the nostalgia, the landscape, are all captured in Bill's journal. The photos are fabulous! This is one of the best cycling adventures I have read because it is about the adventure, not the ride.

Mr. Roe is one lucky guy! He has convinced his lovely wife to drive his 24-foot camper along on his coast-to-coast bicycle trip. The two seem to enjoy themselves almost every mile - even when the people they run across are less than hospitable, they seem to take it all in stride and enjoy the trip.
The author's ability to relate what he sees and experiences makes it a very comfortable read, and the photographs that accompany the text are fabulous. I really liked this book. As long as you don't expect to get a history lesson here (I spotted a few historical errors), aren't put off by editing goof-ups (seems like the editor fell asleep at the switch the last third of the book), and don't expect to learn technical information for a trans-continental trip of your own, you should like this book too.

Travellers on the trail of history in London know how frustrating it can be to locate Tudor and medieval places still in existence in that busy, crowded, vibrant, thoroughly modern city. Last year we spent a week with this guide in hand, feeling a bit Sherlockian in our quest. Even with the detailed directions provided by the authors, finding most of these hidden, nearly forgotten sites was a challenge. But with persistence and patience, our efforts were rewarded. What fun! Couldn't have done it without this guide. But if you aren't particularly interested in the places, the era, and the difficult pursuit, better not bother.

I very much enjoyed this book for many reasons, not just that it provides information you will never find anywhere else. The book covers many sites that I was familiar with and many that I have heard of and didn't know were accessible and many that I have never heard of. I will definitely take it with me on my upcoming trip, my 18th to London.

I like the style of the book, just casual enough to let you know the authors are real people (and have really been to the sites), but not overdone, which can get annoying with other authors. In fact, I skimmed through the entire book at one sitting, reading many parts entirely, as I found it interesting.

I have a few minor criticisms. (I'm still giving a five-star rating, especially since there is no other book quite like this, so invaluable.)

A few things people should know in advance: there is one general map at the beginning -- the authors state you need to pick up a map in London as this is not an easy city to navigate (I use London A-Z) -- and there are no floor plans of the sites. This is good (smaller size and price) and bad (toting and flipping from book to book or purchasing high-priced on-site guides). I'm sure it would be impossible to locate a floor plan for some of the more obscure buildings, so really can't blame the authors.

My main complaint (not major) is there is not a rating system, formal or informal, for sites. I know a lot of what is "worth seeing" depends on a person's individual interest, but, well, just because a site exists doesn't mean it's worth taking time out for if you just have a week or so in London. There's a big difference between "don't miss this hidden treasure" and "seek this out if you are in the neighborhood" or "best for those with a special interest in Edward IV, or stained glass windows, or gothic arches, or whatever."

Once again let me state that a major plus is the feeling that the authors have really been there and know what they are talking about.

By comparison, many years ago I bought a guide to London by a very well known guidebook publisher. I made a bed-and-breakfast booking on their recommendation of a charming hotel with a bright, cheery breakfast room. I won't tell you the full horrors of the place, other than to mention the tiny rooms with plywood walls and door, and the very dark basement breakfast room done up like a dungeon, complete with instruments of torture on the walls. And one shared toilet per floor, which sometimes actually flushed. I didn't just check out -- I escaped. It was very obvious that the authors of that other book had never set foot in the place, and I have more or less ignored mass-produced guidebooks ever since.

I've never known a lot about medieval and Tudor history, but a friend gave this book to me to help me plan a trip to England. Now I can't wait to see the places described in the book. These authors have a fan in me.

I've never known a lot about medieval and Tudor history, but a friend gave this book to me to help me plan a trip to England. Now I can't wait to see the places described in the book. These authors have a fan in me.

For anybody who wants to know more about the history of places they want to see in England, this is the guide book for them. I learned alot of interesting things and had alot of fun reading this book. I like the authors' style very much. They make the history easy to read and understand.

Great, easy, fun read. We also love Terrific Trains by the same team. Well written, not one I mind reading over and over.

I bought this for a 5 year old that loves planes. And he LOVES this book! He carries it round and talks about how it was when he rode on a plane. Really great book for kids that have flown, will fly, of just likes planes.

you cannot go wrong with these - not too long for parents to read and kids love them. amazing how a simple book like this sparks their curiosity about airplanes and how they ask lots of intelligent questions about airplanes by reading this book. Very well done.

My 2 yr old granddaughter loves airplanes. She really liked this book.

My 36 mo old daughter has loved airplanes since the first day she went onto one. I think by now she must have been on one 22 times as we go back and forth between the caribbean, North America and Europe. I bought 2 books to help her understand more about them, and to add variety to her library at home. It's a very good book for both boys and girls.

Anyone who has ever visited Amsterdam knows the curious magic of that city, its canal-lined streets, polyglot population, and unconventional mores. But few are aware of Amsterdam's rich literary life. Manfred Wolf brilliantly redresses that cultural gap in Amsterdam, A Traveler's Literary Companion.
In what may be the best in an excellent series, Wolf, Professor of English at San Francisco State University and leading expert on Dutch literature, introduces the reader to an Amsterdam of gaiety and sadness, beauty and squalor, hope and despair. The selections are arranged thematically and geographically and include "City and People," "Canals," "Red-Light District," "Gay Amsterdam," and "Jewish Amsterdam." Among the provocative essays and stories are Remco Campert's "Soft Landings," Hermine Landvreugd's "Staring out the Window," and Margo Minco's "The Return."
To read this fine collection is to come a step closer to overcoming what Cees Nottebom observes in the opening selection, "Amsterdam": "This is my city, a token for the uninitiated. She will never reveal herself to the outsider who does not know her language and history, because it is precisely language and names that are the keepers of secret moods, secret places, secret memories."

Divided into sections including "City and People," "Canals," "Red-Light District," "Gay Amsterdam" and "Jewish Amsterdam," Manfred Wolf's wonderful new volume, "Amsterdam," is both travel guide to this quirky, classy, multi-cultural city, and an introduction to the writings of a number of Dutch literary greats. Through these samplings one is exposed to Dutch traditions of tolerance, freedom of expression, hatred of fanaticism, love of compromise and at the same time the occasional and peculiar manifestations of Dutch small-mindedness. It is the perfect book to accompany a visit to Amsterdam as well as the perfect volume for gaining insights into this imminently civilized city, if one lacks the opportunity to travel there. Don't miss it.

When I first learned of this collection of Dutch fiction, I was enthusiastic about the concept (a literary anthology for the traveler to Amsterdam) but at the same time a bit apprehensive about whether selections could be found which would give a taste of this historic and many-sided city without compromising either readability or literary merit. I needn't have worried. For the most part the translations are first-rate, and the short stories and excerpts from longer works are well chosen, both for quality and the information they convey about various aspects of the city. It is refreshing to see the work of eminent, but little-known (in the English-speaking world, at least) Dutch writers like Gerard Reve and Maarten `t Hart in English. The beauty of a book like this is that it can mentally prepare you for a visit to Amsterdam (or possibly even inspire you to plan one) in a much more subtle and ultimately more enjoyable way than any standard guidebook can do.

This is a rich and intruiging collection of Duch literature that should be of interest to anyone visiting Holland and seeking insight into the true culture of the country, which is far too often clouded by many popular stereotypes. I lived in Holland for two years and enjoyed picking out not only the references to familiar places, but also the small details of Dutch character, customs, history, and lifestyle that transported me back to the "real" Holland that only the Dutch--and insightful travelers--come to know. The selections are varied and of high literary quality in their own right, and are worth reading even if were one not planning a trip to Holland. But after finishing this book one might very well consider doing so.

I don't have a whole lot to add to these great reviews other than stating that this book deserves its current five-star rating. The excerpts are well-chosen and they really help the reader see into the lives of the Dutch from multiple angles. The fact that the excerpts are bite-size makes this an especially desirable book to take with you to read on the plane or in your hotel/apartment each night.

I am leading a group to the Netherlands next year and this will likely be required reading.