Travel Books

If you like Chuck Palahniuk and have been to Portland, you will love this book.

Okay, so it doesn't start off with a story about some kind of crazy sextravaganza out in middle America like his other nonfiction, "Stranger Than Fiction," but Chuck Palahniuk's "Fugitives and Refugees" still contains its share of interesting and absurd bedtime stories. For instance, there's the tunnel tour where woman throws a simulated aborted fetus at you, there's the elephants who bully each other, and there's even a potential suitor who left "DNA samples" on the couch during a first date. So, I guess what I'm saying is, it's still a pretty good book.

Nonetheless, it is a bit disjointed. The basic idea is you're going along on a walking tour of Portland, Oregon with one of the local residents (Palahniuk), and he's telling you all the weird, funny and gruesome stories of Portland's undocumented past. In that respect it can be a lot of fun, but like any tour, there were definitely parts that dragged and were kind of boring. For instance, while some of the museums he describes might be interesting to see in real life, it'd be difficult for even Shakespeare to describe them in any way that's remotely interesting.

Palahniuk's simplistically scant writing style shines through and keeps the pace going throughout, and there are plenty of bizarre occurrences he documents that make the tedious descriptions of things I didn't care about go by much more quickly. A showdown between a row of riot police and a row of Santas, for example, will definitely make you forget you just read 10 pages of recipes.

And that's all we can really hope for from life, isn't it? That something fascinating like a scholarship fund created by drag queens will overshadow any boring parts of "real life" that you don't need to remember. So thanks for the help with that, Chuck.

I was given this book as a gift and did not know what to expect. Though it was not a novel like other Palahniuk books I have read, I found that the quirky and humorous writing style made this voyeuristic romp through underground Portland highly entertaining. Though some of the highlighted attractions have closed their doors or are not open to the public, this is an interesting view into a side of the city that you will not find in the Frommer's guide.

I live in Eugene, OR... and LOVE this book! We take "trips" to our fave town all the time and love the people and places...Chuck does a great job of describing them like a native Oregonian (even though he technically isn't).

This collection is an idiosyncratic and appealing mix of off-the-beaten-path sights for the visitor to Portland, personal anecdotes of the author, and brief essays about the history of Portland and its defining vibes. Entertaining and enjoyable.

Such a cute book!! Both informational and cute. Great for kids and the child within all of us.

Written and drawn in 1959 this children's book taught me a thing or two about a city I thought I already knew a lot about. The pictures and scenes are wonderful in bright colors and include most of the major sites in Paris from "le metro" to Montmartre and the Champs Elysees.

There have been a few of the drawings, or accompanying text, that have been asterisked to reflect the changes that have occurred in Paris since 1959 but if you are taking young ones over I highly recommend this book as a way to make some of what they will see a little more understandable for them.

This book has created a fabulous insight into the world of travel for my children. It has compelled us all to take a language course in French and to travel here and put our dreams into reality. It has planted the seed of intrigue and wonderment to which my children seek out this book to read at bedtime.

Once I have found this book at Amazon and I wondered about the Czech name of the author. I got to explore the book and realized that he was a Czech, what a mystery, we have never been taught about him at school (of no type). His books were written in English after he emigrated from the Czechoslovakia and were never published in Czech. I got too amazed and curious about this book, so I bought it, read it and love it! All the pictures and the style he wrote it in. I just feel cheated, that we Czechs do not know nothing about this wonderful books and about the author.

My granddaughter loves books about Paris; however, she is only 2 1/2 years old. While searching for other books about the city, Paris, we stumbled across this book on Amazon.com. She loves it. It is written in language she can understand and it has many drawings and illustrations to capture her attention. You won't be short changed with this book. We can't wait to order the rest of the books in this series.

Good overall coverage of the region. Listed all major activities from rafting, hiking, driving, or whatever. I would recommend it for people traveling there. I wish it would have gone into detail about the tour operators.

Lonely Planet has never let me down. It seems no matter where in the world I travel, LP has walked, slept, and eaten there! I am still looking for a place to travel where they have not been. Any suggestions?

I really only used the info regarding Kathmandu since that is the only place I visited but the information given was accurate even the warning about the electricity going out all of a sudden for hours in the city. That was fun to experience and thankfully we read it in the book. The best recent book I could find on Nepal.

we were in nepal in recently and found this guide to be very useful and informative; will recommend it to anybody who is travelling to a new country.

I bought this book to prepare for my trip to Nepal. I found the advice in the book regarding cultural mores and appropriate behavior to be invaluable. The descriptions of places, restaurants, and hotels was accurate. I would have liked to see longer lists of accommodations. One thing I learned in Nepal is there are many, many more hotels than this book describes.

Here's why I gave it a 4: if you are over 40, go out and buy reading glasses before purchasing this book. The font size is very small and difficult to read for those of us with older eyes, especially in the dim light of an airplane or a Nepal Hotel Room.

I purchased this book last year before our 4 week trip to France. This book is interesting and informative. I especially liked the travel tips and recommendations for accomodations outside of Paris. The two places that we enjoyed staying the most I found in this book. Definitely check out this book!

We just got back from France a couple of months ago. I have to say, this book gave us the best 4 days outside of Paris during our entire trip.

Although I went in reverse order, I took his advice and went to the Loire Valley, then to Mont St. Michel, and then to Normandy. Rick Steve's map for the driving distance was right on target, so that helped us budget our driving time properly.

Another great investment if you plan on going overseas. Our collection of Rick Steve's is getting pretty big. We also bought his book on Paris, which we used enough that i felt it was worth it, but there is certainly a lot of overlap.

Pretty comprehensive. But the prices listed are not quite accurate, however it is a good starting point for bargaining. This a good guide to start with at home, combined with a couple of others one can really safely plan a trip to through France.

Rick's latest book on travelling in France has already proven quite valuable as we plan our 2009 trip to France. He is knowledgable and his books provide a variety of easy to understand and implement options for touring and for overnight stays. I appreciate his honesty and suggestions. Thanks Rick!!

Having used many guidebooks, I think these are the best. Granted, the Rick Steves books are unique in that they are selective in the areas that they describe, but these areas are described well. With his guides, you feel like Rick is on the trip as your personal tour guide. Most guides (Frommers, Foders, etc.) give you a superficial overview of the whole country. Rick lets it all hang out. He tells what he thinks is a worthwhile stop and what isn't. Most of what "isn't" doesn't make it into the guidebook at all. Thus, I suggest taking another more comprehensive book (Lonely Plantet, Rough Guide, etc.) to fill in any gaps should you find yourself in a location Rick doesn't describe. On the whole though, I love his itineraries. Most people traveling to Europe have limited time (1 month or less). There's only so much you can see; why not have someone boil it down and provide a straight forward opinion as to what to see and do? In his books there is easily enough to keep you busy for two months. The real question is whether you are the type of traveler that would like Rick's suggestions. Here is a test. If you can answer "yes" to most of these questions, buy the book, you'll love it. 1)Are you a value seeker? 2)Do you want to venture off the tourist trail? 3)Are you an adventurer? 4)Do you appreciate tidbits on history and art 5)Do you have the stamina to tour a new town/city every 1-3 days? 6)Do you try to avoid tourist traps like the plague? 7)Is your idea of fine lodging simple, homey places in good locations, with moderate prices? I would not suggest this book for people who want to spend their vacation walled up in a luxury hotel, venturing out only to shop and tour the biggest of sights.

The theme of this book would probably be that it ties in with the rest of the series, which is 'The Magic Treehouse Series'. The moral lesson might be not to burn or destroy books because they are such a great source of history.
There are actually three main characters. First there is Morgan le Fay, from the time of King Arthur, who owns the treehouse. Next there is Jack, the oldest of the two siblings. Fianally, there is Annie, the younger of the two siblings.
The supporting characters are their mom, who is in pretty much every story at the begining and end. Also included are a few people from ancient China. Mainly there are the silk weaver, the scholar in disguise, and Emporer Qin. More minor roles are the silk weaver's fiance, and a few various scholars, townspeople, and guards.
"You're going to ancient China." is a good excerpt to illustrate the geographic and time settings. The time is around 2,000 years ago in the time of the first emperor, The Dragon King. The geographic setting is, of course, China. Since Emperor Qin (the first emperor) was trying to unite the colonies it was, by that time, all one country rather than being divided. It is set in the capitol where the Imperial Palace was built. The political setting is to the point where Emporer Qin was so frustrated with the scholars that he is burning all the books. Because of this everybody is scared of him, especially the scholars and philosophers.
The major problem in this story is Jack and Annie need to find the ancient book, without any major mishaps. Normally they have a few minor problems, but nothing too huge, as it's a children's book and only about 68 pages. Helping them resolve this problem are a silk weaver and a scholar in disguise. Resolving the problem, simply, they find the book and bring it home with only a few problems.

I have always liked this series, even though I'm 15 now, I still like this series even though they're kind of young for me, and I can finish one in 30 minutes.

What a great way for the kids to learn! These books are great reading for children 7- 10 the characters are a brother and sister ages 7 and 8 who travel through time in a magic tree house by picking up a book and wishing to go to the places in the book. The facts of each book are acurate so the children are learning without realizing it. The passport on line for the children to fill out helps the children retain the knowledge the attained while reading. These books are a great teaching tool for teachers and parents alike

My four year old son is in love with this chapter series! A friend suggested it to us since he seemed ready for a more advanced reading material at bedtime. My husband reads him a chapter every night...sometimes more because they don't want to stop. It's become a great tradition for them, and something they both look forward to. We love that there are so many in the collection! Start with number 1 and just continue. :)

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!

this book Its great because anyone liked cartoon this book would like him

This guide worked great. If you email the author (email address in the guide), he'll send you updates.

Came with detailed maps, turn-by-turn directions for both eastbound and westbound driving, and points of interest. Guide has a spiral binding and just the right size for use on a road trip.

This guide made for a great, unforgettable, 3 week road trip during May/June 2008.

Thanks Jerry!

We could not have followed route 66 without this book. Our vacation was absolutely wonderful and we stayed on the original route most of the way.

Lots of information on what to see an do along Route 66. Maps are a little hard to follow.

I am planning a Route 66 trip - back to the 50"s and 60"s.

Thanks for the book and the info in the book

Jayne

I purchased "Route 66: EZ66 Guide For Travelers, I think mainly because of the spiral binding which it advertized would be easy to lay open as one was driving the road. I would say that was a plus. I drove the road with my wife from Ash Fork, AZ to Barstow, CA. It was a lot of fun and the EZ66 Guide was integral to the trip. It had larger section maps of the journey and smaller detail maps of tricky stretches. It's narratives provided valuable background information about each town along the way and fun descriptions like the berm between Essex and Amboy Calif where travelers have left messages using rocks and bottles, and the shoe tree near Amboy. Since this book was written in 2005 and 'bra' tree has now appeared down the road from the shoe tree. Fun stuff. I highly recommend this book for anyone planning a trip down the Mother Road.

If you don't have the time or money to go to Paris, this is the next best thing. The photos are dreamy and really wonderful. Put on French music, poor a glass of wine and your there!!!

I've always had a fascination with anything french! Oh I loved this book so much and intend to read it again and again! BEAUTIFULLY DONE! BEAUTIFUL WRITING...I hung on every beautiful word!....Photography couldn't have been more spectacular! I feel closer to France now more than ever!

This book is just devine. It will inspire you to take risks, uproot your life and follow your dreams. Vicki and her husband David fell in love with a farmhouse in Provence while holidaying, and have lovingly restored the house and surrounding acreage. The house is truly beautiful and I now have Provence on my list of places I must visit soon. What is interesting is how she made this her new life, learnt a new language, gives us her viewpoint of the French and way of life. What living in France is like to someone who is not French but has chosen it as their new home.
Vicki also covers Paris - I am thankfully going there next year!
The photography, thanks to Carla Coulson is spectacular,and this is a beautiful book.
Vicki also shares a list of shops in Paris and in Saint-Remy-de-Provence she recommends, plus movies, books and music that have have inspired her love of all things French.
Thank you for sharing your journey with us Vicki.

I remember doing a search quite a while back for French Life (or something similiar) and found this book right before it's release. I immediately put it on my Wish List and kind of forgot about it.

A few months later, I found it again (going through my list) and decided I didn't want to spend $35 for this book so after much waiting it became available thru inter-library loan.

Let me tell you that I am so glad I was able to get it this way rather than pay for this overly-plush, terribly written book. Such a letdown..boring writing with heady photographs.
You will not learn anything new about the French in this book. It's the same thing: French style, food, politeness, slow pace, etc. And I got really sick of the author's constant referrals to her olive farm.

Best book on French style: Veronique Vienne's French Style: How to Think, Shop & Dress Like a Frenchwoman...magnificient OOP book but absolutely worth the inflated price.
Best book on French cuisine and life: Robert Arbor's Joie de Vivre.

Don't waste your time with this one. You'll just be paying for padded fluff.

I have never read anything so utterly pretentious -- how wonderful that Ms Archer found this paradise and, at untold cost, restored it brick by brick, stone by stone, using the best local craftspeople,artisans, antiquarians and the like (and who all, along the way, became her new best friends)-- and telling us in the most mundane style how lucky she is to be able to sit and watch the olives grow while also tripping off to Paris or London (her now home).

Her ultimate coup, it seems, and which Ms. Archer proudly tells us she has received, was recognition,by the French Security person at the airport,of her HERMES BERKIN handbag. He informed her that she had bought the most perfect item in the whole world, made with utmost craftsmanship at Hermes-- and she has the privilege of owning it! MON DIEU!!!

Luckily, I got this book from my local library and thus have not added a centime to her rather full coffers. SAVE YOUR MONEY! BETTER TO DONATE IT TO A WORTHY CAUSE!!!!

This is a great book but as I have several other "text" type books it is not necessary. If I had none of the others I would have chosen this one.

Although dense and designed for the professional (experienced) baker, I learned a great deal from this book, which is as deep as Hamelman's book on Bread, and yet covers pastries and other sweet goods for the second half. A wonderfully informative and well-researched book for the price!

I worked professionally as a baker before becoming an IT networking administrator. I have never lost the desire and passion to bake breads and pastries, whether they be croissants, danish, sourdough, etc. When you have a passion for something, you never want to give it up, so books like Advanced Bread and Pastry help to re-educate and light the brick oven of desire again for someone like me. Anyone can learn the art of baking and pastry, but you cannot be afraid to make mistakes. The formulas in this book teach the novice to professional key points of customizing their product by adjusting the percentages.

Highly recommend the book and the school where Michel Suas teaches, San Francisco Baking Institute. This is a bread dough of a winner.

It has been an absolute joy to have this book!! This is probably one of the most comprehensive, yet, concise texts i have seen in a long time, and for the price, its and absolute bargain! Whilst, this book is aimed at people within the trade, the author has done a great job in the way he puts his message across, also making it easy for the serious home baker. If you are passionate about baking, then this book is a must!

This book is written mostly for "the trade", but the home-chef (like me) can get a lot out of it. Apart from Bread and Pastry, it has extensive chapters on cakes, icings, cookies, chocolate(confection), ice-cream and quick breads (banana bread, scones, muffins) amongst other things. It is very comprehensive. The science can be understood by almost everyone, and the book is well illustrated (pictures of how to shape a baguette, etc). There are no "stories" from the author about how he first made this and that, and learnt this from there - and so forth. It reads like a school book. Very informative!

I was at first worried that this book had 1000's of recipes, but it says on the back that it has just under 300, which means there is a lot of theory in it (which I think is good). I has 2 Pannetone recipes and about 4 Croissant recipes. It has sachertorte, and black forest gateu, and loads of other stuff. I'm afraid I don't think the cake section looks as tasty as the bread and pastry.

For me there is one problem: I don't have a Mixer. That makes it hard to to follow the bread formulas (recipes) 100% accurately. There is enough science in the book, that you might find a "do-it-yourself" way if you experiment (at least I hope so).

In each bread formula in the book the author will specify what type of mix method to use: Short, Improved or Intensive (which basically is the 3 diffent speeds of the mixer kneading the dough).
- "Shortmix" is almost like kneading by hand, however quite few recipes call for a short mix.
- "Improvedmix" one can almost replicate by hand (but one might need to experiment with longer fermentation times and yeast amount to compensate and get a stronger dough).
- However I am more sceptical about for instance Pannetone and Brioche which call for an "Intesivemix", which is difficult by hand. Luckily there are quite few recipes that call for this mix method. Only bread with a lot of butter/sugar/eggs. But there is a "handmix" recipe for croissants.

When it comes to Ovens there is no discussion on how to compensate for lack of steam (the book is as I say, written for the apprentice/prof. in mind).

One last thing: I've had no problems with quantities in the recipes, because he always gives a so-called "test" amount (in OZ). But you can also divide the grams and kg. by 5 to get the right "home" batch if you use the metric system (I live in Norway, so i do).

Conclusion: I would recommend this book to the home-chef, but be prepared for a challenge :)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1892145529/ref=cm_cr_rev_prod_title
The Patisseries of Paris: Chocolatiers, Tea Salons, Ice Cream Parlors, and more
With only nine days and a FULL program for my Paris vacation I won't have time for mistakes of 'so-so' restautants and patisseries. The book seems to be very thorough and well researched, many reviews agree with other 'foodies' opinions. I have 'tagged' the 'must visits' and 'possibles' and will give you my full review after I will have come back (April 2009).
Again, very well organized, well researched and easy to follow.

This book was everything I hoped it would be - exquisite photographs, evocative of a trip I'll never take, yet seems to be lingering in my brain. Love it ... hope there'll be more, just like it.

My sister and I recently returned from 2 weeks in France. While in Paris we visited several of the recommended patisseries and totally enjoyed the wonderful offerings. We actually planned some of our sightseeing and shopping around the location of a few of these. Good idea for Paris!

I love that this book is devoted to Paris' Patisseries, chocolate shops, and tea shops. When you go to Paris, these are special treats for the eyes and taste buds. Even if you are not traveling, it's a luxury to read the description of each shop's specialty and salivate at the photos.

This book lists the vendors by Arrondissement; and there is an index by business type and alphabetical listing. There are beautiful photos and a description of each shop.

Since the book is small (pocket size), the prints are tiny, I wish they used a bolder font. Also, you have to read through the text to find out what the author liked the most about each shop. The reading is great, but if I'm in one Arrond. and trying to figure out which shop to visit, it would be great to have the special dishes highlighted under each shop, to make them easier to find. Maybe make more use of a sidebar to highlight that info?

This cocoa-dusted treasure hits that mythical sweet spot between practical, trusted travel guide and gorgeous, dreamy (if petite) coffee table book. Full of the kind of beautiful photos and evocative lyrical prose that you'll never find in any guide and jam-packed with all of the actionable, expert advice that's missing from all those exquisitely photographed gift books, this one has it all. Organized by arrondissements, you're meant to flip to the neighborhood you're visiting to find the author's recos for the best macarons, tartes or baguettes nearby. If I were visiting France soon, that's just what I'd be doing. Cramming bookmarks between the pages, grabbing a map and taking off before the sun came up. But for now, curled up on my couch in New Jersey, I'm literally reading this like a romantic novel. Cover to cover. Dreaming of Paris...