Travel Books

I bought this for a 70 yr old friend who had suddenly taken an enormous interest in Costa Rica, and who was seriously thinking she wanted to go there. So I surprised her with this as a gift. I have to admit that I had an ulterior motive: at her age and level of physical abilities, I believed she would not be able to participate in all the loveliness and would likely find such a trip too much for her to enjoy. But I did not want to deliver that disheartening message.

She read thru the book and thoroughly enjoyed it but realized on her own that other places and trips would be better for her to consider. Sad but true, so the book did it's job. Frommer's can always be counted on to deliver a good product, even if as in this case it ends up turning away a potential visitor.

We brought two guides with us to Costa Rica -- this one and Explore Costa Rica (Fifth Edition) by Harry S. Pariser. We found this to be a useful guide. It had plenty of information on basics. However, it lacked the detail found in Explore Costa Rica which has many places and much information not found in other guidebooks we looked at. We really enjoyed the author's sense of humor, as well as the extensive background information provided. For example, we learned a great deal about the rainforest and other ecosystems, history, culture, and economy. We also were able to find some great local restaurants as well as several ecolodges that we did not find elsewhere. The book contains thousands of website URLs and e-mails and this was a tremendous help in planning our trip, as was the additional tips and online update found on the publisher's website. The color photos are great also! If you are interested in getting off of the tourist track, then Explore Costa Rica is a better guide to bring along.Explore Costa Rica, 5th Edition (Explore Costa Rica)

I went to the bookstore and looked at Fodor's, Lonely Planet, etc and ended up buying this one. This is the most recent up to date version, but not as detailed or as well written as the LP version. Better than Fodors in my opinion. I used Fodors on my last trip to CR. Will use Frommer's this time.
When travelling, I'd rather have up-to-date more so than better details.... but if you've got money, always buy two guides. The best trips come from a collaboration of opinions and perspectives.

I went to Costa Rica in 2001 for five weeks and took an older version of this guide (that was co-written by the same author as the current one). I found this invaluable and constantly referenced it for both daytime activities and accommodations. It is very well-written for the active traveler and I highly recommend it.

I did not give it 5 stars as there were a few omissions that I was surprised to find. For example, the vans that tourists can take between the main tourist cities that are a LOT more convenient and safer than the buses.

Although the information in this book is accurate, I ended up replacing this book with Lonely Planet's Costa Rica book. I do not recommend Frommer's book for backpackers who are trying to paying under $40 per night for lodging, who rely on maps for walking from a bus station to their lodging. This Frommer's book lacked a map for La Fortuna and non-touristy towns. It had very little information on inexpensive hostels. Also, unbelievably, there was no information on border crossings to Panama or Nicaragua; if this information was in the book (and I doubt that it was), it was difficult to find from the index.

very good graphics and print quality. The only -ve is that the paper is very thin (for this price don't expect better). Spend few more and get the laminated one. Happy with what I got for the price!!!!

I was happy to see that this map had major roads on it in light-grey. Not overpowering, but you can get a good view of them. Map was in perfect condition rolled up. (The plastic package was marked $4.95 and I paid $5.95, but worth it!)

This is a good map, it is bigger than I thought it would be. I love it.

This is a nice map. I use it in my kindergarten class. I laminated it for durability and hope to be able to use it for many years.

I purchased this and the "World Map" together from Amazon, since they are made by the same company on the same material, much of my review will be the same:

I was hunting for maps large enough for a 6 and 10 year old to look at and comprehend, but cheap enough to be replaced once things change or the kids did too much damage to it.

The positives - this map is correct, it's large (we tacked them up in the hallway to the kids' rooms) and it's very colorful, which is good for 6 year olds. It has time zones, capitals, waterways, and mountain ranges all clearly marked

The negatives - it's not laminated, now if I was buying this for myself that would be fine, but the paper is also some strange form of paper that attracts and holds small sticky fingerprints. Being maps, little fingers are naturally attracted like magnets.

If you are making the purchase for an adult or a classroom, or if you intend to frame it, then I highly recommend this map. If you are buying for little ones, I'd spend the extra money to get a laminated version.

One last note - if you purchase from Amazon, they are not particularly well packed. They put them in a tube that is too large for the map so it bangs around and the ends get a bit bent up. Also they don't tape the ends of the tube so I had to have a second one sent after my first tube arrived empty and without ends on it. (It was actually the world map that was missing from the tube, but this one was packed in the same manner)

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.

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.

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.

I have a few of these for various cities and they are all very good and great for residents, new residents or even vacations or as a gift for someone moving to a new place.

It provides laminated clearly written and very detailed for it's size. It provides, buses and subway lines, landmarks and tourist attractions for many major cities.

Joe Simpson's disastrous experiences climbing Siula Grande in 1985 make for one of the greatest true adventure stories of the twentieth century. After Joe's accident on the mountain, he and his climbing partner, Simon Yates, nearly achieved an unlikely descent. When Simon is unable to continue Joe's rescue, he does the unthinkable (which Joe does not blame him for), and Joe's hellish troubles begin.

Sounds like the outline for an exciting and heart-wrenching adventure, doesn't it? Unfortunately, Joe was not an experienced writer when he penned Touching the Void, his first book, and it clearly shows. The reader is often disoriented by Simpson's use of mountaineering jargon (e.g., cols, ridges, and gullies). And although the book provides a brief glossary, it's not easy to picture what he's writing about if you've never seen a couloir before. In short, although the story has universal elements, climbers are likely to feel most at home in the account's setting.

There are some wonderful observations and images in the book, but these gems rarely glitter against the more plentiful heaps of clichés. The book needs to be edited and whittled down, and the IFC film based on the book is an absolutely spectacular rendering of Joe's experiences--the film captures what Joe is unable to accomplish in this book.

It's difficult for me to write a review recommending a movie over a book, but I'm positive that you'll enjoy the film much more. I found the book difficult to finish even though it's only around 200 pages long, yet the movie had me riveted from the beginning; I felt physically colder watching the movie, for example. Joe is certainly not the worst untrained writer to publish a bestseller, but in Touching the Void his weaknesses as a writer does not properly relate his greatness as a climber.

After watching the movie version of this book I wanted to read Touching the Void. I usually like to read the book first but in this case I am glad that I did it in reverse. I am not a mountain climber and do not know the terms used in the sport. So watching the movie helped set up the book to where it made a lot of sense. The book provided a more realistic vision of what the climbers thought and felt. It put me there with them. I am in awe.

This is a very boring book. I thought it would be an action packed survival book, but it put me to sleep.

Touching the Void is one of the best books I've ever read. Wow. I am still kind of stunned. I started it way too late at night and couldn't put it down. I went to work the next morning with only four hours of sleep.

It's not even that the writing's good, per se. It is - it's VERY good. But the story itself and the way he wrote it is just amazing.

I've read a lot about the high altitude hallucinations people have (conversations with your feet at 27000 ft or people sitting on your ice ledge telling you they have tea set up just around the corner) but his experience was not at all like that. He had what he calls a voice inside that was insistent about keeping to a timetable and doing certain things, especially as he dragged himself off the glacier. It was deeply fascinating and the only thing that made the suspense at all bearable was that I knew he must have lived, since, hello, holding his book in my hands. I could not put it down.

I was also really impressed with the sections written by his climbing partner, Simon Yates. OUCH. Painful and honest but not self-exculpatory or irrational.

Augh. This is the worst review ever. But, jeez. Read it! See for yourself!

If you liked "Into Thin Air," then you will love this book, which is just as brilliant and perhaps even more incredible. If you've been to Peru, even better. Great writing, great story, and an unforgettable tale. Again, a rare book that once begun, is almost impossible to put down. Simpson has written some others, but none as good as his first. Read it. And try his "This Game of Ghosts" if you want more.

Do you like to read? Do you like Chinese food? Then how could you not like to read about Chinese food?!

Jennifer 8 Lee's book is a fascinating collection of essays about Chinese food and the Chinese immigrant experience. Some of the chapters (such as the one where she goes to China to try to determine the origin of General Tso's chicken) are laugh out loud funny. Others are not; in fact, my only criticism of this book is that the tone is somewhat disjointed from chapter to chapter. Some of the profiles of Chinese restaurant owners and workers are downright depressing, and tend to (rather jarringly) follow the lighter chapters. I would have preferred different sections to address the various chapter themes - e.g. food history, immigrant history, personal recollections.

That very minor criticism aside, this is an excellent book about something most of us partake a lot of but think little about.

Overall a good read. Rather than a continuous narrative the book is broken up into sections that are not entirely complementary but which tell a number of stories related to the origins of Chinese food in America. I was amazed by some of what I read; have repeated a number of the anecdotes already, and found it an overall interesting topic. I think few people are aware of how much Chinese food really does permeate our culture --- and few people are also aware of how intricate, centrally-managed, and lucrative the network of Chinese restaurants in America actually is.

When you think about it - it is amazing there aren't any national chains with Chinese restaurants in every town. But this book explains why. It's an amazing story of immigration to probably 99% of the cities and towns in America. No matter where Americans travel in the US - we want Chinese food - and we get it!
A very interesting story of cultures and their expectations. It makes me wonder how Amerians in China for the Olympics are eating! Are they eating "Real Chinese food" or what we have come to expect of Chinese food!
Great story, with many interesting things to learn.

As others have said, Ms. Lee writes very well, and most of this was really interesting. But she has a total blind spot about fortune cookies, and for me, there was WAY too much stuff about trying to research exactly who invented them. When I realized that I was starting a THIRD chapter on this same subject -- which she'd already covered exhaustively in two previous chapters -- I groaned inwardly and just skipped to the next chapter. OK, we get it: fortune cookies are not Chinese, any more than General Tso's chicken or chop suey. Except for this one flaw, the book was a lot of fun.

I found this book really fascinating. I'm really intrigued by food history, and Lee made me think alot about so-called "authentic" food. I recommend this book, and have already to my friends and family.
Joan

My 1st grader hates to put it down, he would rather read Magic Tree House books, than play video games. He even reads them to his class and explains the story for show and tell. In his kindergarten class the teacher would also let him read the Magic Tree House books out loud, not to give her a break, but to promote reading out loud. Great books!

I liked Civil War on Sunday because they helped America's first nurse named Clara Barton. I liked when they rescued the drummer boy from the war. The author did a very good job writing the book. That is why I have a lot of Magic Tree House Books.

THIIS IS A VERY GOOD BOOK MY FAVORITE PART IS WHERE JAKE AND ANNIE SAVE THE DRUMMER BOY.

If you are looking for a book that explain the Civil War and the pros and cons from each side, please go else where. The book has a Northern slant since Jack and Annie as behind Union lines. Book has a different feel to it and gets away from some the fantasy stories lines for a refreshing change of pace. Enjoy!

Civil War On Sunday is a Great book and educational. My grandson and I love reading all of these books.

I haven't found many recipes that I want to make, but enjoy reading the book for inspiration.

Years ago, I read a book called The Food Lover's Guide to Paris. In fact, I still have it because it includes 20 recipes and it's coverage of the restaurants, wine bars, cafes, bistros, cheese and bread markets created such nostalgia in me for that city that I could not part with it. However, the last edition was written in the 1990s, and no new edition ever came out. I think the author moved to Italy.

So now we have a light, bright newcomer who covers much of the same territory. The format is somewhat similar also. The author is obviously a cook, and the write-ups of shops and markets are minutely described. A great book for those who have some time to stay in Paris rather than rush in and out in a few days. There are also some recipes in the book, and plenty more on the blog that apparently led to the creation of this book.

Of course, The Food Lover's Guide had a 37-page glossary of French food terminology which is a great help if you are not sure what "riz de veau" is. I once got langouste and langoustine mixed up, much to the horror of my date, who was picking up the tab. Ha, ha, it turned out I had ordered the lobster.

While Clothilde's edible adventures are definitely on the light side, she does have a brisk, young, hip (or whatever the millenial generation's term for hip is)style and an obvious knowledge of her material. Book publishing nowadays is all about having platform, and since Clothilde has a popular blog that attracts thousands of fans,Crafting the Travel Guidebook: How to Write, Publish & Sell Your Travel Book it is only fitting that she inherit the mantle of the original author of the Food Lover's Guide to Paris. Bon appetit!

The restaurant suggestions are not especially interesting, if you've been to Paris before. However, the shopping venues are excellent.

Like the other reviewer, I wish I'd had Clotilde's new book for my Paris trip last April. I saw several restaurant listings near the apartment I was staying at, and near the French language school I attended. The shop descriptions are also very helpful. Though in some ways such shops can be found all over the city, it is really helpful to know what the specialties may be, and what to ask for. After reading her blog for years, it is delightful to have her favorites all in one place, and in a beautifully designed book just the right size for traveling.

Clotilde's first book was a joy -- even after I had sworn off cookbooks forever -- and this one is even better. Merci, Clotilde!

Just returned from our first trip to Paris and ate at about 7-8 of the recommended restaurants/shops in this book. EVERY recommendation was perfect; I don't think I've ever had a travel guidebook that seemed so spot on! The shops Ms Dusoulier mentions are charming and stocked with impeccable products. The restaurants were all fantastic and exactly as described. Half way through the trip we ditched our other guidebook and relied exclusively on this one for food! I especially liked the listings for bakeries, cheese shops, etc. You don't usually find so many of them in guidebooks. The extra info she peppers throughout the text was also much appreciated (dining customs in France, descriptions of important dishes, etc). One of the nicest features is that the book lists the nearest Metro stop AND cross streets for all businesses. This is so much more helpful than just an address, which can be impossible to find on an unfamiliar map. The index was great too, listing places by name but also neighborhood. That was very helpful when planning where to eat, since we could just look up the neighborhood we were in at the moment and see what was nearby. Plus, it is a fun read! I read the whole thing before leaving for Paris and really enjoyed it, though I suppose I may not have enjoyed it as much if I were not visiting the city.

The only thing that would have made this book slightly more useful would have been some maps. Even if the maps weren't quite detailed enough to show everything, they would have meant we didn't always have to pull out a giant city map too. Still, that's a very small complaint and one that didn't detract at all from my enjoyment of the book.

I highly recommend this book for anyone traveling to Paris or just looking to learn more about the Paris food scene.

I haven't laughed while reading a book as much as I did reading this one in a while. It is exactly what you would expect from a couple of television comedy writers (My Name is Earl and Family Guy!) who decide to race around the world without using airplanes. If you're not a fan of those shows/that type of humor, then you may want to stay away.

While their comedic talents really shine through in the book, the book is also fascinating from a travel and cultural perspective. For example, this is personally the most I've ever read about Mongolia. Of course, based on the descriptions in the book, it may also be the most I WILL EVER read about Mongolia, but it made for several very funny stories.

The book is a light, easy read, with no real chapters, but instead with short sections, alternating between the two authors. Easy to get through, very funny, very entertaining and very recommended for anyone who likes a little bit of humor thrown in with their travelogues.

If you have ever traveled abroad this book will not only hit your funny bone it will destroy it. Even if you have never left the state you were born in, you will love the story these two lunatics weave. I want them to do it again and take me with them.

Brilliantly quirky and laugh out loud funny! I really really enjoyed their adventures. I could easily see myself making such a trip. Well, except for having a job...and kids...and not having a book deal to pay my way. Plus fear of dying would give me pause. So maybe that's part of why I enjoyed their stories so much.

Although, as sitcom writers, it could be they just made the entire thing up?! Well, some liberties were obviously taken, but overall very believable (just like the best sitcoms!).

The book is very well done and leave me wanting more---more places, more details. They both seem like guys you could be friends with. Except I think Steve would be more trustworthy. Vali has other qualities.

I'm buying 2 more copies to send to reader friends. Sure it's not _____ (fill in with your favorite books), but it is an unusual, funny, easy to read, page-turning adventure.

I picked this up on a lark and was not a fan. The authors are just so unbelievably irritating and immature, particularly Vali. They remind me of college freshmen who desperately want to be liked, and who seek attention by inventing an over the top image that wavers between bravado and self-deprecation. Both guys take pains to describe their drinking throughout their trip, in an effort to give them a rakish, Hunter Thompson vibe that doesn't work. Both liberally drop Bob Saget-style one-liners at every opportunity, to showcase how funny they are, and prove the opposite instead.

Vali was like a mosquito in my ear as I read. His jokes were so bad. Examples: "By the time my flight landed, I was sick as a dog. (And I'm not talking about one of those healthy dogs)." And "Of course, you shouldn't judge a country by its cabdrivers. If you did, you'd think everyone in the country drove cabs for a living." And "As everyone knows, there are two sides to every coin (the tricky part is that most things aren't coins)." And, how about "At the edge of the garden is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. I stood there for a few minutes telling everyone who passed by, `I know who's buried here. It's my friend Bob. Don't tell anyone.'" Just awful.

One of the problems with The Ridiculous Race is how deliberately Steve and Vali set out to write it. Most nonfiction works describe an amazing event that befell the author, long before writing about it came to mind; things happen, and then it strikes the author that those things would be worth sharing with others. In this case, Vali and Steve got a publisher interested in their dare beforehand, who gave them an advance to spend during their race around the world. Their resulting attempts to justify the paycheck fill the pages with way too much of their forced, tepid brand of wackiness. Vali so much as lets you know a couple of times that he wanted to go to sleep in his hotel, but had the book to think about, and headed out into the town for more "adventures" (mostly talking to strangers at bars or eating exotic foods). Steve mentioned at one point that the trip was costing him way too much, and that he'd need to sell a boatload of copies of the book. How about some mystery, guys?

The race was only about 50 days or so, and it wasn't all that ridiculous. Steve and Vali were more tourists than voyagers, only occasionally veering lamely off the path of least resistance. Their knowledge of the places they visit runs as deep as the Google searches they describe. No one picked up any ladies despite a lot of wasted ink thinking about it (a couple of blind dates don't count). There were no real confrontations or elements of danger- just idiotic questions asked of people, invented "imagine if" scenarios, and narratives of completely risk-free events like a Jack the Ripper tour in London, overnight train rides, a visit to the Sistine Chapel, and a week spent on a luxury cruise line. Fueling the authors' already bothersome attempts to win readers' admiration was an "Awesomeness Contest" representing a side bet to the Ridiculous Race.

The most outlandish aspects of the race were the least funny (*** SPOILERS ***): Vali tries to get a head start at the race's beginning by handcuffing Steve in his apartment. Vali cheats immediately by flying and then incorporates air travel at every opportunity. Vali sets off for Mexico to meet with a jetpack hobbyist, based on the absurd and unfunny idea to cross the ocean with it, and never so much as gets a foot off the ground.

Vali was at his worst when effecting an air of danger; he wants so badly for his story to read like a James Bond serial, but is way too non-threatening to pull any of it off. On the border between Jordan and Egypt, for instance, he got immigration officials to allow him to use an ATM beyond security to get money for his visa. "Even though I wasn't handcuffed, I walked with my hands clasped behind my back as if I was. I wanted everyone who saw me and my armed escort to think I was some sort of awesome internationally wanted man- the sort of guy who did away with his enemies by forcing them to gorge themselves to death on fine caviar." This is the same guy who chickened out of visiting the Kremlin armory after paying admission because some 14 year olds were glaring at him menacingly. Sorry, not dangerous. And not funny.

I had hoped to love this book as much as "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson. Steve and Vali had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to write something that was funny and a great ride to experience with them as we're home living vicariously. However, Vali MUST be a fairly short guy given his writting screams insecurity; thus, his excerpts tend toward annoying and petty. I'd give this book a 5 for Steve Hely's writing alone....except that Vali's obvious Napoleon complex became tedious after the first few chapters. If his family had named him Vali Napoleon, as he discussed, it would save the world from having to guess what he's all about. The saving grace of this book is Steve's writing. He's honest, insightful, interesting, charming, funny, and a million other adjectives that give you reason to take the time to read this book. If Steve wrote books, instead of comedy for some wonderful shows, I'd read them all; he's that good.

I am a 21 year old event organizer, I have been in this field for about 2 and a half years, and as a young organizer thats trying to get ahead in this market i found this book an absolute must have.
if you in this field, want to get into it, or just need help planing your daughters wedding, this book is indispensable.

It is a helpful book for first timers and newcomers. For someone who has been in the field for 6 years it isn't very good. It is just reading the same things over again. I would reccomnd this for anyone just trying to get something togther and not wanting to hire an event planner. The info is good and doesn't miss much. Just do not buy it for a refresher if you have done this time and time again, it won't help

This book is a fount of knowledge. Its simple to read and easy to follow. I thought it would be a person spouting about how great they are and not alot of practical information. But I was wrong. This book is helpful in many ways: for the beginner it provides a practical guideline to get started; for the intermediate planner it provides further ways to improve what they have begun; and for the advanced planner it hones their skills with the latest ideas and information.

For myself as an advanced even planner, it confirms that I am right on track with the trend for event planning. The CD with the forms and such are very useful and easy to customize for each planner or event.

I have already recommended this book to a large organization to use to train other event planners!

This is a great high level overview of event planning. I am still looking for a reference with more detailed checklists and events of a more civic nature. But it was great to get the accompanying CD to use to start making your own checklists. And a great way to see all the possible areas that could be involved with planning events, especially large ones.

Having to plan an event? First time or old pros needing a refresher go no further than this book. Shannon Kilkenny has outdone herself here with step by step instructions and tips to walk you through the whole process of planning and executing even the most difficult event you've ever faced. I found the charts, lists and forms both in the text and the copies on the CD ROM for easy print out to be the most beneficial.

I think the best thing about this book is that you can take away something from reading the whole book cover to cover. But you can also take away information from individual chapters if the whole book doesn't apply to you. The best example of this I can give is that my mother was panicked last week over trying to plan my little sister's 16th birthday. I told mom that while I'd only read this book last week for a friends baby shower that I thought she might want to take a peek at it. When I came over the day before my sister's party to help with setup my mom said that the book had more than paid for itself. It had shown her a much less stressful way to do what she was trying to do. She said that she skipped the chapters aimed at event planners but that a lot of the later chapters helped her immensely in avoiding disaster or over planning for the party. This is a definite read for anyone trying to plan an event from the smallest birthday party to a large banquet or conference.

I would highly recommend any of the Rick Steve's European guide books. We used this one in Italy and found it very helpful. And it was amazing to see so many others using it, too! Everywhere we went, walking, flying or on the train, there was at least one other person reading their Rick Steve's book!

I spent 9 days this spring in Florence and Tuscany & found this book to be absolutely wonderful--full of great tips to get the most of your trip. Obviously, a lot of other people found him useful too, as everywhere we went, we saw people toting his book around! My German sister-in-law found it comical!

I am so glad that my friend introduced me to Rick Steves! I now own 3 of his books and am actually shopping for a couple more to use in the coming year!

We just returned from a tour to Florence and Tuscany region, and feel this book is inadequate for the Tuscany region in general. It was very helpful for Florence, but many of the cities we visited were not even listed in the book. Therefore, I would consider this mainly a Tuscany guide book.

came across this in an apartment in Florence, wisely jettisoned by a traveler who had more useful things to carry in their luggage.

Steves' book IS quite good at the very practical nitty gritty of Florence: for example precisely how one collects pre-reserved Uffizi tickets, but his comments on cultural aspects are at best token and often stupid. Not everyone will want, like me, to know all about as much of the art as possible in a book about Florence, but for a travel guide to cover, say, Santa Croce and make reference to only one painting when the place is full of the most glorious and important fresco cycles by major figures is inexcusable. If the information is there, one can ignore it, but if it isn't, you might return to the US (the prime market, I imagine) and realise that you have been within yards of great paintings but the guide book didn't GUIDE you to go and look at them. Instead, in Santa Croce, he refers to admittedly interesting monuments, but fails to refer to the finest (Bruni's), he's only interested in the famous names.

His grasp of the art is very poor and he seems to address his readers as though they are 12 year olds needing asinine jokes to keep their attention. For him medieval painting is a world of never-neverland (his phrase) where the poor painters are struggling desperately to paint realistically but just can't do it! Simone Martine's Uffizi Annunciation is patronised: he can't see its beauty and sees it as a mere stone on the pathway to realism. Mary 'doesn't look too impressed': a good point if he only had the wit to see that perhaps the responsibility of her role is frightening and overwhelming - it's a very moving and human piece, but his approach seems to be,'Why try to elucidate when you can be folksy and jocular'. An early crucifixion is mocked for having Christ's head raised as on a wedge as though this is a pathetic effort at three-dimensionality when it is pretty obvious that the angle would enable viewers to see Christ's face (and suffering) more clearly from ground level and has little to do with aspiring to realism. He also says that the Siena Pinacoteca (a gallery full of wonderful Sienese painting) would tempt him in only if there was a downpour! (I dread to think what nonsense Steves writes about, say, Picasso, if REALISM is the criterion by which all is judged.)

A cardinal sin, for me, is the advice to 'leave this guide face up' in a number of restaurants to gain a reduction. When I travel I like to try to be as little like a tourist as possible, while still obviously being one. I know I stand out like a sore thumb, but Steves seems happy to be as obvious as an amputated leg. And what sort of arrangement leads a guide book writer to 'negotiate' deals for his readers? All very sad, especially as Steves seems to be the Guru of European travel for Americans. Perhaps he suits those, like the previous reviewer who praises Steves for enabling him to 'do' Pisa in 45 minutes and not miss anything, though how he would know he hadn't missed anything is beyond me.

The Rough Guide does everything Steves does well just as effectively, while the cultural stuff, whether great art, architecture etc or jazz clubs, bars, cinemas, clubs - is in another league. If you want a detailed guide to the art and history of the city, see American art historian Eve Borsook's Companion Guide: it has the art, the history and is a really good unfussy read, but most travelers don't want to carry a library with them so they need a book that covers the practical and the cultural at least competently.

And if you want to get a guide to the UK, PLEASE don't buy Steves': I dread to think what rubbish he writes, on the basis of this offering.
Not even worth the one star the site requires me to give!

We lived by this book for 4 days around Florence. The restaurants Rick suggests were really great (we tried 6 places), map is detailed, museum guides are adequately informative. He was wrong on a couple of museum prices - sometimes by 50%. I'm not sure if they are anticipating fee decrease in 2008 (we were just there last week). There are other guidebooks with color pictures and more detailed descriptions of sights - might also want to have those if you are not going to do a guided or audio tour. His suggestions on side trips to the hill towns were great. We went to Siena, Pisa, San Gimignano and Volterra by car. We are really glad to have had this book. Definitely recommend and will definitely buy Rick Steves books for our future travels.