Travel Books

I was terribly disappointed in this book. Although the story should have been fascinating I really just didn't care.
The use of the present tense ("The next morning I arrive early. Already the lobby of the hotel meeting place is deserted. I introduce myself to to the coordinator of the trip...") is something that works fine in conversation, but when used in prose, especially when glossing over details, sweeping through time and scenes so fast, does not express feelings or emotion. Even when describing colorful scenery it comes off a little flat. And for that reason this book felt like it had little heart. It was clear this was a deeply meaningful experience for the writer, but I felt so removed from it I really didn't care what happened next.
Large events are glossed over, characters are left undeveloped, I never felt fully involved or invested in what was going on. It was somewhat interesting, but at the same time, not very moving.
I can see how Gelman might have been a great writer of children's books (where the writing is pure story, all about what happens next ) But this book, which should have been engrossing, left me cold.

I agree with some of the reviewers that the book is rather slow. I started the book and really enjoyed the first few chapters before I misplaced it while moving. When I found it again I was beginning the section on Indonesia, but found myself not as enthused about the book. The chapters on Indonesia, Thailand and the States were too tedious to read straight through, so I would entertain myself by reading a few pages of Ms. Gelman's adventures before going to bed.

Despite the slowness, I enjoyed the book because Ms. Gelman shows that an adventure abroad doesn't have to be diving into dangerous waters, bungi jumping off of bridges, or being one of the few people to climb a high peak. She shows that the adventure lies in the natives' mundane lives and the quiet, unassuming landscape. Although she used her title as an author to create friendships, Ms. Gelman gave the impression that if you just show people that their lives are important, they will treat you kindly and will happily invite you into their lives.

Ms. Gelman also is very honest about the sacrifices that comes with living in foreign cultures, the isolation, losing connections with family, and not having many possessions.

This book chronicles a brave person who shuns commercialism and lives her life very simply. In my opinion, Ms. Gelman's life is fuller from her travels than a person's whose mansion is filled with the most expensive furniture and art.

Especially for those who are thinking of travelling alone or following a dream, this author encourages us with her adventures.
I enjoyed his story and her guts to begin something new at an age when it's easy to get stuck!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, so much so, that I read it straight through in only a couple of days. Some of the reviewers criticize Ms. Gelman for casting her opinions about some of the culture issues, but I think she demonstrates that she clearly wrestled with this as I think most of us would if we suddenly tried to fit into a foreign (to us) culture. Personally, I was rather horrified by some of the brutality of other cultures and these are places I have no desire to visit. I enjoyed the first part of the book more than the second, because I could really identify with her motives for wanting to get out on her own and see the world and likewise, her struggles to go it alone. I do think some of the writing in the second half of the book seems a bit choppy and does not flow as well as the beginning of the book. But this could also be an editing issue. I appreciated Ms. Gelman's honesty about her motives, her feelings, her learning that her children have missed her and her struggles in getting in shape, etc. Most of us would have painted a pretty little picture and have nixed the honesty. Overall, if you are looking for a book that demonstrates it's possible for a woman to travel on her own and participate in the activities of different cultures, meet people and make new friends a long the way, this is a great book.

I just finished reading Rita's book for the second time and loved it even more. I often give a copy as a gift to girlfriends with courage and determination to pursue their dreams, as Rita did (and continues to do). It takes true gumption to live as a nomad and the payback in magical. She's an inspiration! I'd love to meet her one day... hopefully in some far away local learning from the locals. If you've ever considered stepping out of the safety box, give this book a read and see where it takes you.

In this day of "who cares", I am happy to say this was a terrific purchase. I ordered, it was delivered, and it was in good shape. What a simple concept.

Although there are many RV campsites along the roadway a publication such as this gives the RVer the information of various RV campgrounds and their amenities so an informed decision can be made when selecting a good place to stop. This publication with its comprehensive information makes it easy to find a campground in any state. Selecting a campground is a breeze and that adds to the enjoyment of RVing.

The book is huge. It lists everything I have searched for so far. We are going on our first outting in a few weeks so will see if the parks are as described.
I think this will be a big help because we just go and see where we land.
It gives great discriptions of the parks and the amps etc so heres hoping.

This directory is HUGE, and filled with adds but I can't imagine setting off on a long trip without it. Calling ahead, or reserving a spot online is such a good idea when you are driving or pulling a large trailer. It really pays to have an idea of what you are getting into before you get there. If you are arriving later in the day to an area you are unfamiliar with this directory is a necessity.

Like others here on Amazon, often I am reading two or three books at a time until one really "hooks" me. This particular book was a B or C book for awhile. The first 100 pages are frankly slow but then BAM! Once the hero goes back in time you are right there with him.

I'll give you a little warning on this one. If you are looking for sci-fi time travel and or a time machine, this might not be for you. If you just want to take a trip back in time to see what things were like and to solve a mystery, I would recommend this one.

The hero is Si Morley, a NY advertising artist who is unmarried and leading a somewhat boring life. He is approached by a stranger offering him the chance to take the adventure of a life time. Another warning. This book was written in 1970 so it's almost like going back in time twice. Amazing how many people casually smoked. Anyway, the premise is a little unbelievable but just suspend that and go with it because going back in time is fun however you get there! A government agency has a secret project going on where they believe a person placing himself under self hypnosis who is placed in an environment that has basically been unchanged for years, can actually send themselves back in time.

Si is a perfect candidate for this project and agrees to go along with it. After many pages of build up Si finally transports himself back to New York via the Dakota building to New York in the year 1882. The author does a magnificent job of describing in detail what Si is seeing. For instance, I had no idea the Statue of Liberty's arm actually resided in Madison Square for years. There are sketches and photographs from that time period (supposedly taken by or drawn by our hero)that really add to the feeling of going back in time.

Si has also gone back in time to solve his girl friend's family mystery that dates back to that time period in New York City.

After the slow first 100 pages I couldn't put the book down until I had consumed it and ordered the sequel, written some 20+ years later.

Would have given this 5 stars except for the slow beginning but loved it none the less.

The good part of this book is already repeated by other reviews, so I'll just mention the problem I faced when reading this book. The time traveling aspect of this novel is hard to swallow for a scifi reader. I'm not expecting explanation involving quantum mechanics or wormholes, seeing this novel is written in the 70's. But there're certain rules or logics when omitted make the enjoyment of a time travel story impossible for inquisitive readers like me.

The method of time travel in this book is unusual to say the least, when the time traveller comes back from his first two short trips, I keep asking myself how do you know this is not a dream or hallucination? Strangely enough, nobody in the science team asked this question, they're more interested in whether the trip changed history instead of investigating whether there is a trip in the first place.

Some other questions that I tried my best to bury when reading the first half of the book: Where did the time traveller's present body go when he goes to the past? Did it disappear in flash of white light or does it still exist in the present? What can he bring into the past and what can he bring back from the past? I think he did some drawings and took some photos, where did that go?

In the end I did finish this book and some of the questions are answered indirectly, but I didn't enjoy it as a time travel science fiction novel, I think H. G. Wells' work is much better in this aspect, even though it is written more than 100 years ago.

I read this book years ago but still hold it as my favorite book of all time. I cannot think of another book that describes detail in a way that you feel you are not reading at all but actually watching a movie. I highly recommend this book!

Time travel through self-hypnosis is definitely one of the most creative methods I've ever read about, and definitely one of the more bizarre. The idea is that if you are able to find a place that is virtually identical to what it was (or will be) in another time, you can hypnotize yourself into actually transporting to that other time. Not everyone can do it. But if you're good enough at it, you can apparently take someone else with you.

To all of which I say: whatever. It's an outlandish theory, but I suppose not a whole lot more so than other time travel theories. At any rate, Si Morley can do it, and repeatedly goes back to New York in 1882 with the idea of observing a certain event. Naturally, he is only supposed to observe, and not get involved in any way with any of the people of that time. Of course, that doesn't work out so well.

And the story itself becomes much different from what you think it will be as it goes along, which is always appreciated. Dealing with the ethics and possibilities of time travel, Si must make a decision that could effect the course of American history. In the end, though, he makes what seems to be a different decision.

Finney deals with these complexities in a subtle, interesting way, saving this book from becoming just another "Connecticut Yankee".

This book was published in 1970--so I felt like I was going back in time twice. I couldn't relate to any of the characters or scenes because I wasn't even alive in 1970. The book often referred to "the eighties", which to them was the 1880's because the 1980's didn't exist yet. I had to pause and remind myself of this often. Therefore the time travel that actually took place in the book didn't have as much impact.

The book has a great premise, and was probably a wonderful read when it was first published--but 38 years later, it has definitely lost some of it's appeal.

I consider myself an environmentalist, living off the grid, and in the past I have been clearly unwilling to consider anything with the word nuclear. Having read this book, Tom patiently, and with wit, clarifies options, costs, and consequences of this multifaceted issue in understandable, layman language. Thank you Tom. Seriously, if it were possible to be the first in our very rural northern california county to be able to build an IFR and produce huge amounts of clean, safe energy and be totally electric with not having to pay one more penny for gas/oil would make me the happiest person imaginable. I encourage everyone to read this book. It can save us, our children, and the planet.

WHAT AN AMAZING BOOK!

"PRESCRIPTION FOR THE PLANET" BY TOM BLEES INTRODUCES US TO REVOLUTIONARY NEW CONCEPTS THAT WILL PRODUCE ENOUGH ENERGY FOR EVERYONE IN THE WORLD.......AND IT IS A GREAT READ.!

WE LEARN ABOUT A SOURCE FOR ABUNDANT, CHEAP, NON-POLLUTING ENERGY FOR VEHICLES, AND A NEW TYPE OF SAFE NUCLEAR PLANT THAT BURNS NUCLEAR WASTE AS FUEL. HE ALSO INTRODUCES THE CONCEPT OF USING PLASMA CONVERTERS TO EFFORTLESSLY RECYCLE ALL OUR WASTE PRODUCTS.

"WE MUST THINK ANEW" IS A QUOTE FROM EINSTEIN THAT BEGINS AND UNDERLIES THE BOOKS

Wow! What a book! I was skeptical when I first heard its premise, but after blazing through it (got my first hard copy a few days ago) I have to say, honestly, that this is the first real solution I've heard. Tom Blees's book addresses everything I wanted to know, not just the specific scope of his revolutionary plan, but all the other options being touted around as "solutions" as well. For ANYONE interested in climate change, energy problems, water shortages, global energy wars, or pretty much Earth itself, this book is a MUST READ.

Caution: Once you read this book, you won't be able to not know what's in it anymore. It is likely to permanently change your view of many things indeed, not the least of which is nuclear power, almost no matter what you thought about it before. Personally, I find the way it changed my views on garbage and recycling the most profound. Now when I dispose of some particular nasty destined for a landfill, I feel much less guilty about despoiling the environment, because through plasma technology, all of the landfills we have can potentially be Energy Mines For The Future.

Tom has managed to put together a tidy synthesis of complex concepts and ideas, much of which has obviously been derived from many and various technical disciplines. But I doubt whether a specialist in any of these fields could have created such a reasonable, readable and compelling presentation - comfortably tempered by the author's imaginative but logical extrapolations, and his sometimes cynical and irreverent humour.

Everyone needs to read this book!

Prescription for the Planet: The Painless Remedy for Our Energy & Environmental Crises

Like many another progressive, I had long held an apprehension of nuclear power as sheer anathema. Scary! But Blees's book made such a convincing case in favor of the nuclear solution that I now feel we should at least devote careful pondering to its possibilities. The book is very well written, and, dealing with all our primary fears, has answers both surprising and, uh, soothing. The gist of the book's position pivots on the revelation that technology has advanced to such a degree that the fearful aspects have dissolved and offer a stunning--and salutary--prospect.

Dr. Tom King

What adventures did Jack and Annie endure in this story? Well, in the Magic Tree House series book the Night of the New Magicians, Jack and Annie had another mission from Merlin. They must travel to Paris, France during the World's Fair in 1889. Once in France, the pair must follow through on a mission of discovery to find four new magicians and deliver an important message from Merlin.
On this magical mission, Jack and Annie learned interesting facts and problem solved situational dilemmas that are associated to the four new magicians of Sound, Light, Invisibility, and Iron. The narrative passages with visual descriptors made the events in the story come alive. The reader felt the importance of finding the new magicians and protecting them from the evil sorcerer.
I had not realized the educational value associated with this series of text for young children especially for teachers, and now I cannot wait to read the sequence of their entire magical tree house journeys. This inquiry based story makes learning fun, and now I see how addictive these books can be. In away the text made me think of my childhood adventures with my brother, even though our adventures were not in distant and mystical locations, our imaginations still came alive with the excitement for each and every new journey just like Jack and Annie.

My kids love this series. My son read them when he was in first grade and my daughter is now in first grade and she loves them too

In this magical time-travel adventure, Merlin sends Jack and Annie to the Paris World's Fair of 1889 where they must find four magicians and warn them about an evil sorcerer who wants to steal their secrets. The fairground itself is a place of magic, stretching out below the Eiffel Tower and bustling with people who have come from all over the world. Unfortunately, as Jack and Annie race around the fair on their quest they seem to miss each magician by minutes.

Young fans of this series will enjoy the fast-moving plot and the surprise ending. Along the way, they will learn much about famous inventors and technological changes of the late 1800's. Mary Pope Osborne has found a delightful way to engage young readers in biographical information that is anything but boring.

My grandson has done nothing but rave about how GOOD this book is. Perhaps part of it is because he loves magic as well as reading.

I would recommend this book to kids who like books that have magic, adventure, and information about other cultures. That is why I would recommend this book.

Ray Kroc's autobiography provides an interesting glimpse of the McDonald's system and it's development. The book is well written and interesting to read. Despite this, I do not recommend the book. It offers no wisdom or lessons learned to take away from the book besides Kroc's greatness. (Kroc never suffered from an excess of humility.) In addition, I found it difficult to like Kroc. He rarely found fault with himself and blamed others for his and his businesses problems. Particularly galling to me was when Kroc had the opportunity to invest in McDonalds and another earlier business opportunity, his wife of 30 years was unconvinced of the plans wisdom. Rather than spend the time to bring her aboard, he tossed her aside continued with his business plans.

There's a lot to say about McDonald's, or about any business. But this isn't a book about McDonald's, it's about the life of the man behind it. It's a quaint book. It doesn't tell you about the pathos of the man's life; he mentions his daughter I believe just once throughout the whole book. Instead, we're given a nostalgic rosey-colored view of what got this man up in the morning, the ideas that chewed at his mind, and his drive to achieve them.

Ray Kroc didn't even become interested in McDonalds until he was in his 50's. In fact, the autobiography is most interesting when discussing the series of events leading up to his making the acquaintance of the McDonald brothers, who had a small family-owned venue which was able to pop out hamburgers for a nickel a piece. Before this time, Kroc worked various odd jobs around the city, during prohibition he even played piano at an illeagal salon. He eventually settled in as a sales-rep, eagerly hopping from one product to another, from one costumer to the next. It might not be the ideal life, but Kroc's enthusiasm sure makes it seem that way. At one point he was truly excited about marketing some type of outdoor fold-in chair that his friend had made - he was positive that it was going to take the world by storm. And later he gets into marketing a product called a multi-mixer, which can make six milk shakes at once! This, he thought, will really bring in the dough.

In the meantime, he hauled from one business to another, trying out various ideas. Some days he would hardly sleep - in one passage in the book, he talks about his tricks for getting to sleep as quickly as possible after his head hit the mat. That way he wouldn't lose valuable time trying to fall asleep.

There are a lot of fun anecdotes in the first third of the book. But what brings the book to the next level is the description of how he stumbled upon the McDonald's brothers, and made their business (unfortunately, without them) one of the most successful businesses of the century. Kroc applies the same raw enthusiasm and smarts, but the scale of his business keeps exponentially increasing. In this section, the nature of the anecdotes changes - they're more like what you would expect, with meeting so-and-so who now has millions of dollars, and striking a deal with so-and-so who is now stinking rich. And then there are still the more humbling stories, which match up with the folding-chair experience above - like the creation of the HulaBurger, a fried pinapple with cheese and fixins in a bun. Kroc thought it was the best thing he had ever tasted, how could it ever fail?

McDonald's didn't change Ray Kroc, it's clear that the business came straight out of a person who knew what people wanted. Throughout the book, Kroc is solving problems, working his hardest, observing human nature. The ideals you see in a young piano-playing or door-peddling Ray are the same ideals that created the double arches. By connecting all of these dots, this autobiography depicts a very inspiring man, albeit from rose-tinted lenses, along with the values of remaining honest, genuine, and business-like.

This is a great book for all entrepreneurs who are starting out and a good reminder for established ones. The title fits the book very well since it does show that Ray did make a lot of gambles to make it all work out and he started out an average middle income citizen like everybody else. Lessons like:
- Sweating it out
- Constantly trying new things
- Learning from mistakes

Very good lessons in business and life.

Although the first few chapters on his biography do not have much to do about business.

It is not often you unearth a business biography that starts your stomach rumbling with hunger while maintaining your attention. No matter what your perception of the fast food hamburger industry, Grinding it Out provides a pleasant look into the origin of franchising and fast food. One will also find some gratification discovering the extent to which Ray Kroc put quality and integrity on an equal basis with profit; something possibly unexpected to those with prior negative perceptions of the mogul due to his abundant wealth.

Anderson provides a wealth of detail outlining the business dealings behind the growth of the McDonalds franchise. This book will be of interest to those with a curiosity towards the making of an industry. I recommend reading this book but suggest doing so with a full stomach.

A very good book, a definite read for anyone looking to learn more about start up business or true entrepreneurship.

Although, I think it's very important to look at the fact that things are much different now of days then when Ray Kroc started up Mcdonalds. It is very inspiring though to find out how old he was when he started this business. Though, it's nice to read of all these young kids starting up business, it's also nice to read about a man in his 50's finally doing a start up that he'd dream t of.

Very useful book. Perhaps a litte too much detail, but the universal packing lists, esp. for children. are excellent. I now have an index card with a packing list for my daughter which makes things a lot easier.

The one thing I dread about traveling is dragging my heavy luggage around. I appreciated the author's solid tips on packing lighter. I'm going to try her bundle packing method in 2 weeks and believe it will work just great. I appreciated her lists and pointing out the things I probably could leave behind. She also listed many websites where I could review and buy luggage and packing accessory items. If I follow her advice I think my next vacation will be a little more pleasant than previous ones. Thanks!

All my life I have yearned for some unknown knowledge. Feeling incomplete, I began at an early age to selfishly take in as much information as possible. I read everything I could get my hands on, encyclopedias, dictionaries, textbooks, but nothing could quench this thirst. That is until I found this book. I still remember the day fate brought it to me. Opening its crisp pages I began to take in its glorious advice. Immediately captivated, I read the book uninterrupted from cover to cover, twice. Hours later, as I reluctantly closed the book, I breathed a sigh of relief. My soul at rest, I put down "The Packing Book: Secrets of the Carry-on Traveler".

I got this book used, so for me it was a good value. I read it in a day, at least the parts that pertained to me. I did get some useful info. and have dog eared at least 20 pages for my upcoming travel, she mostly talkes about carry on, but it would be helpful to read if you check your bag too. I travel usually 3-4 times a year and each time have slight packing anxiety, what am i forgetting ect. and end up bringing way too much. A helpful guide book.

First, decide you're ready to travel hassle-free (or as close to it as possible). Next, visualize your perfect carry-on travel wardrobe. Author and packing expert Judith Gilford makes it all a breeze in this readable, oddly interesting handbook. She includes specific lists to jumpstart your thinking about packing for business, vacation and special itineraries - adventure, business or cruise travel, for instance. She offers great tips, from how to pack a layered bundle to keep your clothes wrinkle-free to the best practices for stain removal. getAbstract recommends her guidelines if you want to be able to travel light and still have everything you need upon arrival.

I am writing this review after visiting Peru, and using this book as a guide.

The book is very thick, but actually contains very little useful information. Most pages are simply full with senselessly long lists of restaurants, hotels, and other contact information. Such things are better found on the internet, or by simply walking around the city. Moreover, a lot of that information was already out of date a little more than 1 year after publication. So, about two thirds of the book is immediately utterly useless weight.

Instead, a good guide book,
1) would have a lot of pictures. There are none in this book!
2) would have a lot of maps. A few are available in this book, but are not sufficiently detailed, not well-prepared, not well-explained.
3) would talk about interesting things to do in A LOT more detail. Such information in this book is extremely limited, sometimes barely a sentence or two, and a short search on the internet would produce a lot more useful and insightful information. This leads me to question whether the writers even visited the places they are talking about. Given the recent news about how BBC's Lonely Planet Guides are being prepared, I'm going to have to say probably not..
4) would have the following important information: the flag of the country would be nice; the inflation and GDP per capita in the country in addition to money exchange rates, and estimates of average transportation, hotel and restaurant prices; the altitude, average temperatures and precipitation of each city (for instance, for Cusco some of these are quite important!). The climate of the country could be entirely discussed in one page in a few simple maps showing altitude, precipitation, and temperature; also population density.
5) would give prices in local money, instead of dollars. Just after a few months, all prices listed are already out of date, not just because of local inflation, but also because of the devaluation of the dollar.
6) would do a lot more justice to the history of the countries, and put the interesting things to see in a context.
7) would have some color. None in here, except the covers and a couple of pages. In other words, the guide should be more visual, and writing should be avoided when it can be. One picture is worth a thousand words or more..

Having said all this, I am not aware of a better guide book. So, I can only suggest to compare guides for yourself and then pick one, or just use information off the internet.

In short: out of the 120 or so pages on Peru, the useful information fills in about a third, and the rest is either out of date, useless, unrelated, or otherwise non-essential.

So: publishers, pay me half the money you paid these writers, and I will give you a guide that is 10 times better than this.

Lonely planet is a great travelling guide - it gives you just enough information to get you by when you're in need, and leaves enough blanks for inspiration of your own.

I was very, very disappointed in this book and would have returned it but I had highlighted one article before looking at the book completely. This is probably a good book for a college student who will stay in hostels but as for a book to help find hotels and sightseeing places, it missed the mark completely.

Used this book for a three month trip through Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil. A friend who travelled with me had Footprint's guide to South America. While Lonely Planet had far and away the better maps, everything else about the Footprint book was better -- more information, more current information, and most importantly, broader coverage! There were many small towns that were not even included in the LP book. Even in the major cities, Footprint covered more sights and did so with more detail. If you are picking up a second book for a trip, by all means get the LP. But if you are only buying one, go with Footprint until LP seriously expands this edition.

This is a useful if flawed guide for backpackers and other budget travelers. This thick book (1,150 Pages) covers lodging, conditions, airports, regulations, and other vital information for 13 countries. The information is practical, useful, and substantial, and one can travel South America with this guide. But in trying to cover 13 countries the book is unavoidably limited on information for any one nation, city, or place, and the maps are at times less than adequate. There is also some out-of-date information (Argentina's Peso is NOT equal to one U.S. dollar) so travelers are advised to check other sources.

If you will be traveling to only a couple nations in South America you would be better advised to buy a travel guide for each country. However, if you will traverse through many countries in this fascinating continent, this book is still a valuable reference tool.

For the first-time visitor to Vietnam, Lonely Planet's Vietnam 9 overall is a fine production -- and is easily Lonely Planet's best swing at Vietnam -- even if the style police are trying to ruin the show.

Vietnam 9 covers all the big-ticket destinations comprehensively, with detailed sleeping, eating, drinking and sights information. There's a detailed orientation section, loads of maps, crystal clear photos and lots of general information. Good coverage on most of the border crossings is included and the transportation information is pretty easy to digest -- if a little confusing at times. A series of suggested itineraries, while not overly imaginative, remain useful for first time travellers.

Authors Nick Ray, Peter Dragicevich and Regis St Louis have done the hard yards and crammed much of what Vietnam has to offer into Lonely Planet's famously tight word-limits. They've done a great job putting together what is a probably the most comprehensive text available and something much improved on Vietnam 8.

Listings
Guesthouse and hotel listings are concise and all budgets are well covered. There were some omissions which struck me as odd -- Mai House on Phu Quoc, Tay Ho Hotel in Can Tho, Jungle Beach north of Nha Trang, Hoa Hong in Da Nang and the Tung Trang in Hanoi -- all outstanding places, yet none made the cut. That said, there are stacks of excellent places they do mention -- more than enough for most readers. For the rest you'll just need to read www.travelfish.org.

Sights-wise, the information is excellent. Lots of historical background and interesting snippets are woven into the text, acting as leads for the reader to learn more. For example Ong Pagoda in Tra Vinh includes a reference to the Chinese classic The Romance of the Three Kingdoms for more information on the pagoda's god Quan Cong.

Transport
Transportation comes in two parts -- a summary and the destination specific sections throughout.

The summary section is good though a little unbalanced. There are almost three pages about getting a flight to Vietnam (surely something fairly simple), yet almost no information about the niche topic of buying a motorbike -- certainly an area where advice and suggestions would be useful. The train section has the briefest of fare charts, but thankfully steers people to the Man in Seat Sixty-One website (www.seat61.com) which is a far better resource.

The destination specific sections vary. In particular better information regarding frequency of bus services would have been good. There are also some discrepancies -- the Qui Nhon to Pakse bus service is listed as taking 12 hours and costing 250,000 VND, yet in Pleiku it reads "There is also an international service linking Pleiku and Attapeu (US$10, 12 hours)". This error (Qui Nhon to Pakse is at least twice the distance of Pleiku to Attapeu) is repeated in the transport introduction. Perhaps if one of the writers had actually done the trip they'd know that Attapeu to Kon Tum takes about five hours and another two hours to Pleiku, while the Qui Nhon to Pakse trip can take up to 20 hours. Of course these errors can happen to anyone -- I'm sure there are some in Travelfish -- but hey, LP has a bigger editing team than us.

Text and design
Talking about editing, the text is dense and the writing dry, verging on encyclopaedic. I've met a number of the LP writers over the years and without fail they've been a much more interesting, amusing and verbose lot than this text would have you believe. Perhaps the editors could spin the dial back a little on their "textual-de-emotionaliser device" to let the occasional witty or cheeky line slip through.

And while I'm on the topic of the back-end -- there's a new layout, and this one isn't great. A step forward is the removal of "Author's choice" aka the Lonely Planet Touch of Death -- replaced by a small "our pick" icon. A step backwards is the ordering of accommodation by price rather than quality. In this nod to the serial penny-pinchers, the rest of us are left scratching our head thinking "So which one do they recommend?".

Fact boxes though are the real blight. Vietnam 9 saw its length increased from 524 to 540 pages, yet rather than bulking out destinations, there are now more than 100 shaded fact boxes. Of course, some are useful; "Tracking the American War", tying together various sections covering war interests, is great. But half a page dedicated to Regis St Louis's motorbike breaking down is excessive -- especially when there's but a lone paragraph dedicated to trekking out of Kon Tum. Minor point perhaps, but the designers should have their cookie-jar benefits suspended for the incorrectly typeset, mistakenly padded fact box on page 163 -- sloppy.

Call me old school, but a move back to the basics -- accurate and easy to use information -- would be welcome. As an example, if you're looking for a list of internet resources for Vietnam, you'll be needing to refer to pages 21, 42, 58, 63, 69, 74, 79, 84, 89-90, 171, 465, 476, 494 and 495-6 -- whose bright idea was that?!

Now I'm getting petty and trivial -- lets move on.

Maps
The 105 maps cover all the major destinations and look terrific, but in anything short of ideal conditions, are difficult to read. Vietnam 8's maps, while uglier, were far easier to use. The new maps replace clunky shades and chunky outlines with gentle hues and delicate lines. This may look great in Lonely Planet's mapping HQ, but when you're crammed in a minibus trying to decipher the Hanoi map by torch, you'll be thinking different.

Photos
The photos are terrific. From the wraparound train cover-photo to the bored tourists gawking at the carpet in Reunification Palace, they do a great job of catching -- and explaining -- Vietnam. In another layout change, the photos are clustered in the first few pages, closely followed by a food overview and then eight more pages of colour in the centre.

Conclusion
It's worth noting that some of my criticisms are general and not specific to Vietnam 9 -- overall it's an excellent guide and I've rated the book at 8.5 stars (out of 10). If you're going to Vietnam and planning on hitting all the key destinations -- you'll be set with this title -- no questions asked.

*A pet peeve -- I purchased Vietnam 9 at a bookstore in Jakarta on July 20, and had seen it at the airport weeks earlier. Yet on the half-cover it reads "9th edition published August 2007". Unless Lonely Planet have a special in-house definition for the work "published" this is misleading to potential buyers who are looking for what they consider to be the most "up-to-date" text available -- it should read July 2007.

I am reviewing the L.P.2007 guide. Note: most of the other reviews are for older editions, ie. Pre-2007. I was in Vietnam January-February 2007 and used this guide.

The guide has maps that are superb and easy to use. Both the accommodations and restaurants I chose from the guide's recommendations were good to very good. The cost for accommodations are listed in dollars, instead of the insipid icons that other guides use. Kudos!!! The restaurants cost quotes are in Dong. Caveat! Because the dollar is in a free fall against world currencies, you will need to add at least 20% to the quoted price for hotels, maybe more.

Vietnam is a country of paradoxes: Communistic-Free Market. Traditional-Progressive. Etc. To capture a caricature of Vietnam is as demanding as it would be enigmatic. Yet, Dragicevich, Ray & St. Louis (authors) have written an outstanding brief profile of this country. "The Culture" is a section not to miss. No other guide is as complete if you are going to go "off the tourist track." I found towns and places in L.P. that other guides don't even list. The information was accurate and trustworthy.

Unlike Rough Guide's Vietnam (8 pages) this guide has only a smattering of book/film recommendations. Sadly, in this guide, unlike other L.P. guides, there are few sidebars or text boxes that give you interesting tidbits about the country and its people. Though most all accommodations have an email address, there are NO webpages. NOT GOOD. This guide needs serious improvement in this area.

The 2007 is a significantly revised guide and one of the best guides in print for Vietnam. This is a highly recommended guide - happy tramping. 4.5 Stars.

This was a very good guide. I got the Rough Guide, National Geographic and Let's Go and was most satisfied with Lonely Planet. This had the most up-to-date info and mentioned a few things that were not in the other guides. Let's Go might be best for people in their early 20's. All of the guides avoid giving opinions and pretty much list all the tourist destinations. I found the web site [...] to be the best source for recommends on what to see and do and used the guides for hotel information.

I was already very disappointed by Nick Ray's "Cambodia", but "Vietnam" tops it all...

Useless information: For example: "Post office - get rid of your stamps here." Do I really need a lecture what a post office is used for? What about opening times? Or if that changes too often - just don't say anything at all. But don't tell me what a post office is good for!

For the package tourist the book might be okay. But for the independent traveler it is a horror! Example: "To get to the Perfume Pagoda by public transport is too complicated. Take a tour!" What?!?! I thought it's a Lonely Planet guidebook and not one of these colorful DK travel guides...

Oh well, the only reason to use LP Vietnam is b/c it's the only guidebook you can get in SE Asia. It is a good idea to buy a Rough Guide (I hope that one is better!) in Bangkok/Hong Kong/Overseas and carry it all the way to Vietnam.

On the other hand: Vietnam is probably not a good place for independent travelers anymore anyway (well, of course "off the beaten path" still exists... Thanks for that! But it's hard to find in Vietnam...)

We hiked to the top of Nui Ba Den (or Black Lady Mountain). LP page 376 says it's a 6 hour trek to the top and back, but we took longer.

We didn't ride the cable cars part way up; we walked up from the very bottom.

Started 8:40 am, got back down about 6:30 PM, and we rode those lovely cable cars down the last part. If I ever do it again, I'm riding those cable cars up to the trail head.

Have you hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon? I have. 5,000 vertical feet down, 5,000 vertical feet back up.

Black Lady Mountain is 3,000 vertical feet up, 3,000 back down. And I can tell you it's a much tougher trail than the Grand Canyon. Grand Canyon trails (both of them) are hands-free trails. That is, unless you want to occupy a hand with a walking stick, your hands are free to juggle hacky sacks, etc.

The Black Lady Mountain trail requires some hour-long boulder scrambles, and in some parts you had really better keep three on the rock and only move just one hand or foot at a time. Keep three on the rock. Really.

If you're no climber (I'm not) your upper body will be about half as sore as your legs the next day, because you are going to use both hands a lot. The next 2 or 3 days, getting up and down stairs was actually tough to do, real sore, so factor a recovery slow-down into your travel plans. I was way, way more wiped out than by hiking the Grand Canyon.

Don't try the trail to the top in flip-flops; we saw several sad dead flip-flops. Some nice Teva sandals were great.

Be careful, a bad fall is possible, a twisted ankle could happen even easier.

Take plenty of water. We screwed up on that, and were very hot and thirsty when we got down to the cable car station. Victory drinks never tasted so cool and sweet!

Take plenty of water. It's not hard to do, many vendors at the top of the cable car run.

Yes, Pat Battaglia, has produced yet another fascinating, challenging, stimulating, and sometimes downright maddening mind bender of a book. We found it to be of immense fun to work our way through it as a small group. It often makes you ask yourself, "how dumb can you really be?" but even so, it is loads of fun and entertainment. It is just about right for those searching for a challenging word exercise that is moderately difficult and with sometimes infuriatingly obvious answers for those who find themselves a bit stumped along the way. Highly recommended for good, clean fun!

I was expecting a book of puzzles that were more mathematically based. When I think of word puzzles, I think of a mathematical problem in which the question uses words.

Here is an example of a puzzle in this book: "Corresponding to each word or phrase given below is another word, similar in meaning, which is also the name of an animal. EXAMPLE: lifting device ANSWER: crane"

To me, this is more like a crossword puzzle book, you just don't have to fit your answers into a crossword puzzle template.

If you like this type of puzzle, then there are a lot of word "teasers" in here for you. If you are looking for a brain teaser book to challenge the mathematical side of your brain, there are probably better books out there.

So You Think You're Smart: 150 Fun And Challenging Brain Teasers compiled by Pat Battaglia is an eclectic collection of queries and riddles to boggle the mind, from sports trivia to word games to graphical puzzles. Each conundrum has hints and solutions, written in reverse to avoid casual reading yet easily looked up with the aid of a small paper-thin mirror that doubles as a handy bookmark. Ideal for parties or simple personal enjoyment, So You Think You're Smart is enthusiastically recommended as a fun and engaging selection of riddles to challenge readers of all educational backgrounds.

Fantastic book and THE most prompt service I have ever received from a publisher.
Very much appreciated!!! You won't be disappointed with ordering this selection.

Your puzzles are great! We're having so much fun with them. You are so creative