Travel Books

I found this book, quite by accident, in my local bookstore. I was in the process of planning a trip through Connecticut late this summer. This book proved invaluable. Not only are the directions clear and precise, but the recommendations as to what to see along the drive are first-rate. I would recommend this book to anyone planning such a trip. It certainly helped make my trip through Connecticut very memorable.

Excellent book. Allows you to see the highlights whether you have five days or twelve. Great routes and wonderful descriptions.

Very practical for people planning a trip to New England for the first time.

We loved this book! It has a number of driving tours that take you to highlights in each state. It has a couple of really nice features. The first, although we didn't stick to it very much, is the time suggested for the trip. They did suggest 2 days for the Southern Vermont tour. We did it in one day but only because we didn't stop in all the little towns suggested by the book. The book does not have much detail on each place so I would suggest a second "guide book" for more details and hotel/restaurant suggestions but the driving tours and directions were accurate and had good 'stop here' suggestions.

Our family used this guide on a recent vacation to New England, particularly at Lakes Squam and Winnipesaukee. The guide gave wonderful suggestions and directions. We stopped at some places that we would not otherwise had taken notice of and we were able to form a more complete 'picture' of the area. The maps and written description were accurate and we felt we could rely on the book. There are many more tours for us to take and we are looking forward to doing so!

This product is same as described in purchase. Delivery was very quickly and good conditions. I recommend this product and provider. Sincerely. Jose Pena

Details, details, details. That's really what successful event planning is all about, and that's the key to this very successful event-planning manual. Author Judy Allen notes, lists, copes with and gives an example of virtually every detail in planning anything from a sedate corporate event in a major city to a huge celebration on a remote island. She provides examples galore plus tips, questions and answers, sample cost sheets and schedules. How much floor space does a person need to be comfortable in a tent? Answer: 20 square feet. How many bathrooms should be available for a party? Answer: One per 75 guests. And don't forget to ask about the stemware, adequate parking and even the photographer's back-up camera battery. This author seems to have thought every contingency, as the book's ambitious title promises. Her one glaring omission is that she does not include the party planner's fee - our guess is that she'd be worth it. We highly recommend this well-organized, very practical book to all event planners. Don't send out press releases for your party without consulting Judy Allen.

It was very useful to me as I used it to brak into the wedding/event business. It presents a very corporate approach, yet it seems to uncover all kinds of secrets of the event world that are hidden to the public eye.

Being an avid reader of Event Planning literature, I must say that this book is alright.

It is hard to tell who this book is geared towards. A novice should not take on any event that is as over their head; as most of the event situations that are listed in the book are. A professional would know from experience the answers to most of the questions or they would have the common sense to take care of any odd situation that arose. The book may be helpful to assistant managers or banquet captains, but most houses have their own way of doing things. Interesting read and a good refresher, buy used.

This is a great book for children. However, when I put this on my daughter's wish I thought that it was a new book. Not so. There is nothing in the description that says it's used. The book received is a used library book with stamps all over it. It was delivered badly wrapped as well.
So, if you're looking for a new book, this seller doesn't provide. However, if you are looking for a book on London (or any other European city for that matter) that's written for children, you might want to buy anyway. They aren't easy to find.

Great book in great condition. Well packaged and received quickly.
Thank you.

Originally, I read about this series in National Geographic Travel. I bought the London book as a gift for a seven year old who is a certified Harry Potter fan and, as a result, becoming quite the junior anglophile. While this may not be an up-to-date trip to London (some of the landmarks mentioned are no longer there), it sparks the imagination and whets the young traveler's appetite. The illustrations are fun and it doesn't stay on the shelf long at our house.

Exclamations come to mind: beautiful design and drawings, comprehensive and to the point guide! And this goes for all his city guides Paris, Rome, Venice and Hong Kong. You might argue it is a bit old fashioned, but I think you are confusing it with "it s one of the Classics". And when something is called a Classic, it is timeless and a Must-Have! Trust me, it is worth your while and money!

My son (7-year-old now) has been reding this series since age 4 every time we visited a new city. We have London, Paris and San Francisco books. They are all brilliant to read pre-trip and post-trip. Although cities have chnaged over the years, the books give a very good feel of the cities. They also give footnotes of updates. Not only my son enjoys them enormously, but my husband and myself learned a lot from the series. Highly recommended.

I loved this book. It both entertaining and informative. I would buy more books authored by Hal.

Sailors of all experience levels will learn from one man's experience cruising around the world. You'll also learn why some things work, and others don't.

Well writen. Clear and practical. Author share his great experience sailing around the world in a small sailboat and little money. Very good ideas and advises...as a bluewater sailor (30'sailboat) I found myself making changes in my boat that make my life easier out there.

Recently I've bought a book from Amazon com. "How To Sail Around The World" by Hal Ruth its an excellent book every thing you need to know about this topic is mentioned in details a lot of photos and sketches.
The book got 29 chapters each chapter have a heading such as:- To find a yacht suitable for the voyage in full details- The best self-steering to choose with digrams explains its operation and you could build one from the diagrams if you wish- Storm management- Navigation and pilot charts as well the place where to buy these charts and their referance numbers and many many more topics covered in the 29 chapters of this book.
The style and the way this book is written is marvellous once you start reading it you don't feel like to stop. In my view Its an excellent book highly recommended to buy.
David Dawud

I've read a number of Mr. Roth's books.His writing skill is excellent.His photography is superb.His knowledge of sailing is that of a true grandmaster.This book has tips for cruising sailers on any level of experience:what works and why; what didn't work for Him and His incredible partner & wife and why.No plans for an around the world cruise is needed to get this book and pick it up often. Much of the great info is valid for most any overlight sail, or any daysail on our great magestic oceans ,lakes or rivers.His humility is gratifying. He's been out there and done that (a thousand times),but He doesn't have to keep showing us His "medals"in every paragraph. His Bibliography and references at the end are a great source to what else is worth exploring in the world of print.If you sail- get this book!

This is a wonderful book for teaching about maps and globes in a simple, fun and colorful way. The text is a nice large size which makes it easy to read. The age level is 7-10 but I am sure my five year old will enjoy it. This is a wonderful book used with Geography A-Z as part of My Fathers World curriculum. Neat stuff. Enjoy the book and go ahead and get both of them together and save on shipping if you can.

Good book for introducing maps, globes and history of map making. It includes a few simple activities which should encourage readers to further research with maps, globes, atlases and at the library. However, the book would be greatly improved by a glossary defining all the italicized words in the book.

This book is a great resource to use when teaching a unit about Map Skills! I've used this in my 2nd grade classroom and it was successful! The language is very child-friendly and easy to understand! The illustrations are wonderful! A great addition to my Map Skills unit!

Colorful, fun way to introduce Map and Globe reading and understanding. It covers the history of maps, and uses. Advanced concepts like debth and elevatons are discussed. It looks at different uses maps have, and leaves the student wanting to discover more on their own. A very usful tool in teaching basic geography.

Written for 7-10 year olds, this colorful book introduces young readers to the basics of maps and globes, such as a map's uses, direction, the equator, scale, legends, latitude, longitude, elevation and the difference between physical and political maps. Illustrations are simple, colorful and informative.

Well done.

This book is a page-turner, an amazing non-fictional look at the lives of people caught between the southern regime and the Viet Cong during the Viet Nam conflict. The protagonist herself gives an intimate view of her life that is too strange to believe.

Recommended by my Vietnamese tour guide in October 2007, this book describes the dreadful plight of those Vietnamese families living on the border between North and South Vietnam in what the Vietnamese term the "American War". During the day, the villagers had to demonstrate allegiance to the South and at night the VC demanded their loyalty. The families would not leave their land as their ancestors are buried there. The authors, Le Ly Hayslip and her son James, describe her experiences in surviving the hell imposed upon her family by the opposing forces and her eventual emigration to the USA. The sequel, "Child of War, Woman of Peace", describes the difficulties she experienced as a Vietnamese in the USA.

Le Ly Hayslip has gone through one of the worst wars in American history. And she has lived. Past the rape, past the sexual inequality, past the emotional destruction of her family, past the threats and brushes with death. Le Ly Hayslip now is an accomplished author and owns several real estates throughout California.

This is a powerful memoir and I will not rob it of that. However, the only reason I gave it 3 stars (an "It was OK" rating) instead of 4 is because I feel that Hayslip could have cut out about... maybe 1/6th of the book out and nothing will have been missed. Not that it didn't relate to the story, but Hayslip does occasionally go off about this or that, her re-arrival back to Vietnam as an adult also heads towards the digressing end of the spectrum a lot of time and sometimes she goes from reporting her troubles and potential sympathy to just plain whining. Perfect for the college kid looking to dig as much quotes and intangibles to write an essay (as was I) but as a reader I felt it was too much.

Overall, still an excellent read.

An honestly told story by an author able to see both sides. This is a also a story of forgiveness. Her story is a heroic journey and the author gives the reader a perspective into the many ways the Vietnam War has affected Americans and Vietnamese Americans.

Not having lived a very memorable life, my own writing has leaned toward fiction. Nevertheless, I tend to judge memoirs--and this is a good one--by the same standards I use for great literary fiction. One of those standards is the opener, or first line, in this case, "SUFFOCATE HER!" the midwife told my mother when I came into the world.

This is what we in the business call a 'zinger,' the equal of Camus' "Mother died today." or Melville's "Call me Ishmael." What a beginning! On trial for her life right from the git-go. This opener effectively signalled the continuous trials and potential consequences Le Ly would face for the rest of her life. She would have to come from stern stock if she were to survive, and her mother held her genetic end up with her smokin' response to the midwife, "I will bury her when she stops breathing. Now get out of here."

I have been a student of the Vietnam War since I first joined the Army as a chopper pilot in 1967--ironic because I've never set foot in that unfortunate land. I suppose I'm motivated by survivor's guilt. Anyway, Le Ly's fine memoir anchors a good bit of my newly won understanding of that longest and strangest of American wars. Coming from a Republican military family and growing up in the Cold War as I did, I believed at the time that everybody knew about and accepted the Domino Theory. And with my father a Korean War veteran (as well as WWII and Vietnam) I believed that any communists that were brazen enough to encroach from the north could be pushed back with a proper dose of American military muscle. I served in S. Korea myself many years after that war and things seemed to be plugging along rather nicely, thus preserving in my mind the validity of the Domino Theory. Then came Vietnam and the awful realization that we were not invincible. Hell, we got our butts kicked! Initial study from an unbiased source--General Westmoreland--suggested that America didn't lose the war, the South Vietnamese did. And he was right in a sense. Marvin the ARVN was quite content to sit back and let Joe slug it out with the VC and the NVA. I couldn't understand this. How could they take such a lackadaisical attitude about the fate of their nation when they had so much at stake? Did this mean they were for communism??? How could anybody with half a brain be FOR communism? I am not and never have been a practicioner of 'Jane Fonda logic' wherein if America makes a few mistakes, then the injured party must be lily-white, Q.E.D. I could see what rats the VC and NVA were. I knew they were just a front for a repressive dictatorship. Why couldn't the South Vietnamese see that? I was baffled.

Well, along comes a nice lady with the incongruous name of Le Ly Hayslip, who writes a book about those very South Vietnamese who didn't care about their government, or their nation (at least as we Americans tried to define it for them), or to my great surprise, communism or democracy or freedom (again as we defined that term). All they really cared about was getting the rice crop in and raising a few sons to do the same. Then the VC came into their village and beat everybody up, so they felt obliged to follow communism. Most of them didn't really know what that meant, but if the VC would stop beating them up, they'd learn a few songs and dig a few bunkers, then get back to the rice crop. The VC would leave and the Vietnamese Republicans would come in and beat them up again. So they were obliged to pay a few bribes and act 'patriotic' so the new bully would go away and again they could get back to the rice crop. This bizarre pattern only seemed normal to them. Throughout their recent past they had always been plagued by one bully or another--the French with their Morrocan allies, the VC, the NVA, the Republicans, the Americans--they were all the same to them. There was always somebody trying to get between them and their rice paddies. Deep down inside they were as apolitical as the grains of rice they were so diligently trying to harvest. You can eat rice. you can't eat dogma. The rice had fed them for generations. The VC et al. only fed them baloney. I get it now, Le Ly. Thank you.

--Ejner Fulsang, author of "A Knavish Piece of Work." Aarhus Publishing, 2006

My sister loved this book. It is beautifully drawn, illustrated, and written. There are many wonderful pull outs and the budding archaeologist in our family loved it. :D

I had been looking at this book for about a year and was on the fence about buying it. The main reason was because it was 20-25 dollars everywhere. When I saw it for under 14 on Amazon I knew it was a bargain! It's wrapped up safe under my tree and I know my daughter will love it!

I was actually disappointed in this Ology book. I have two others and the way the information is presented in them plus the little extras were just better in those. There weren't as many exciting extras in this one as I expected and the "mummy cloth" example was a bit disappointing. I bought this for my daughter and she became bored quickly due to the confusing way the pages were written and presented. I am hoping the next Ology I choose will be more like the first two I have.

I am a life-long Egyptology buff, and co-author of a novel, Secret of the Sands, that is set in Egypt and I was absolutely thrilled to receive this as a Christmas present one year. It has sat proudly showcased on my main bookshelf ever since. Not only is it a lovely book to look at, the design of its interior is like leafing through the personal notebook of an Egypt-traveller. Its fun design includes all kinds of interesting things to open & unravel. It is a book that children find fascinating, because of all the little hidden items they can discover, plus the book is packed full of great facts about Egypt. This book truly does do justice to Egypt and her magnificent and unrivaled history. My house is decorated throughout with Egyptian art and this book is a wonderful addition to my home. It is a keepsake I will treasure forever...

A great gift for the Egypt-buff in your family!!

Rai Aren, co-author of Secret of the Sands
www.secretofthesands.com

"A deep probing mystery riddled with prophecy and danger, Secret of the Sands uses Egypt and her mythology as a backdrop to delve into the meanings of life and religion."
-McNally Robinson

What a waste of paper. I was very disappointed when my cohort recently purchased this book. She told me it was a pop up book for little kids, but I could see through the lies and deceit. Unlike my friend Maryanne I can see this book for what it really is....a cheap gimmick to exploit the middle class of America. As if we didn't have enough I-Spy books, pop-up books, and Dora the Explora books. Her kids did enjoy the book however, and even learned a bit of Egyptian culture. The ends do not justify the means. I would much rather have my child look up Egyptian history and culture for a fraction of the cost on the internet. Please save your money and invest it in a more productive manner. Children can learn from pop-up books, but poor quality books like these are not worth the money.

The book contained a great amount of side trips along Route 66 that made the journey even more fun and adventurous. Follows the westbound route.

I used it as a companion to the Route 66 EZ Guide by Jerry McClanahan.

I have been planning a motorcycle trip on Route 66 for some time. Having collected several reference books, maps and DVDs, I was intrigued by this offering. I was surprised at the amount of points-of-interest information the author provided, however, this is certainly not a one-book-does-it-all piece. This is a great reference to have with you while traveling Route 66, or simply in deciding what you would like to see on your journey of the Mother Road. I will certainly take it with me on Route 66.

This book was a disappointment to me, rather than being a step by step guide as you travel was more of a read through type book. Obviously good for reference but wouldn't be the only book I used for a trip. Good point of the book is the pictures, bad point is the lack of detailed maps.

I have read this book along with reading Route 66: EZ66 Guide for Travelers simultaneously. I find reading them together you get a little more information out of them. We are leaving for our trip in May and will bring both books with us. This book has a wealth of information and very easy to follow. I am very excited to take our trip because of all of the exciting information I have read about. The author has great experience and has driven this route many times. I feel confident we will have a wonderful trip.

The book was great for pointing out things to see along Route 66. I highly recommend it; however, I really, really wish that it included more directions and approximate mileage to find the items listed in the book. The Giant Ketchup bottle was about 20 miles off the beaten path. The Cherokee Indians Trail of Tears was close by route 66, but there were no directions on how to get there, so it took several hours and wrong turns to find something that was only 5 minutes away. An icon to indicate directly on route 66 or not would have been terrific and saved a lot of eye-strain trying to find things. We did somehow manage to find most of the items listed in this book in conjunction with route 66 specific maps.

Writers Matt Fraction (CASANOVA) and Ed Brubaker (GOTHAM CENTRAL) team up to reinvent Danny Rand, known to Marvel Comics fans as the Immortal Iron Fist. Iron Fist has existed for a long time in the Marvel Universe, along with friends and allies Luke Cage, Colleen Wing, and Misty Knight, but Fraction and Brubaker have set out to create an entire mythos to fit into Danny's past, and they are met with stunning success.

In the book, we are introduced to the concept that Danny is not the first Iron Fist, nor will he be the last - Iron Fist is a title that is passed down, each generation, to the champion of one of the heavenly cities. And not only is Danny NOT the first Iron Fist - a previous Iron Fist, Orson Randall, is still alive! Danny and Orson must team-up to root out a conspiracy set on attacking Danny both in his costumed identity, and attempting to take over the company that keeps him rich.

Along the way, in a series of brief prologues, we are introduced to a number of past Iron Fists and the epic battles they undertook, and by the time this single slim volume ends, the Iron Fist mythos will feel expanded ten-fold, as you realize that, even in the brief space allotted to the prologues, you find a variety of styles and personalities for the past Iron Fists.

The book would be nothing, however, without David Aja on art. Drawing action is hard - the number of mediocre action comics out there is testament to that. Drawing martial arts action is harder, as it must look fluid and dynamic to the reader, despite being a set series of static images. David Aja does a magnificent job in this book, proving himself to be one of the foremost action artists in comics. But Aja also does a good job with facial expressions, body language, and other such subtleties. I eagerly await seeing more work from him.

While the story is, in parts, lacking, the fun, frantic pace rarely lets you stop long enough to realize it. Ultimately, Immortal Iron Fist: The Last Iron Fist Story is a great read for any comics fan, even if you've never heard of Danny Rand or his friends before in your life.

I had to read some pages more than once to understand what was going on. This is more or less due to the constant change in time periods throughout the first half of the novel. As the story progressed, however, a brilliant story began to unfold and I was faced with a problem..I was so into the story I needed to find out what happened next, but I couldn't get myself to turn the page on such poetic fight scenes! Definitely worth reading if you can overcome the confusion in the earlier parts of the novel. very much looking forward to the next volume in the series.

My favorite obscure Marvel character Iron Fist makes his return to comics in this book. Filled with superhero mysticism and crazy kung fu action, the stories contained within hold up well and deliver plenty of plot and drama. Billionaire superhero Danny Rand learns that he was not the first Iron Fist, and that there is more to his power than just punching through steel walls. A rich history and an exciting new universe await readers opening "The Immortal Iron Fist" for the first time...it won't disappoint.

I love comic books. But even someone who didn't would probably love the Immortal Iron Fist. To be honest, I didn't know a thing about Iron Fist outside his silly costume and rather obvious powers before I read this. And now he's one of my favorite characters. The art is fantastic and the story is extremely well written.

If only they could take some of their other characters and give them new life the way they did with Iron Fist. I'll definitely be following up on this one.

This was amazing! I am a long time reader of Iron Fist since childhood. I began reading this updated version with low expectations. Happily, it blew my socks off. I couldn't put it down. I cannot wait until the second volume comes out. This series should live on!