Travel Books

I've made many trips to India. In that context, I quickly came to see that most books on India tend to be superficial: see this, see that, perhaps some history. In general there is little depth, and if anything spiritual is involved, little objectivity. It's the check your mind at the door thing that Westerners seem to do so well.

I have found two books very useful for introducing visitors to the real India. One is "Holy Cow" and the other is "The Spiritual Tourist". Not surprisingly, both books are by seasoned journalists, so there is both a spirit of investigation and a professionalism that seeks to set aside biases and to genuinely be objective.

Having extensively visited India, I know for certain the Holy Cow author, Sarah MacDonald, is one courageous lady. In her two years living in India, most of it with her husband absent, she somehow manages to boldly put in a lifetime's worth of spiritual experience across the country.

As with both of the books I mention here, Sarah's conclusion, if there can be such a thing, revolves around love. India made her relationship with her Creator and with her fellow human beings come to life, and she realizes this across many of the religions and spiritual paths India offers. The book is an objective account of a spiritual journey. It just happens to occur as she travels across the Indian subcontinent.

The unexpected plus with Holy Cow is that Sarah is a great writer, entertaining, humorous, and starkly honest. You get to know her personally as you get to know India, and that kind of writing is rare. Few authors expose their hearts in their work and stay objective at the same time.

To go to India with no understanding of the spiritual dynamics there is like coming to the US and visiting Orlando or Las Vegas and returning home thinking one now understands America. India is vastly more than the sum of its parts and this is one of the few books where that is lucidly shown. I continue to give these two books to friends who visit India for the first time. I can think of no better way to help visitors truly understand the real India. Enjoy.

In the beginning of the book, I was shocked at the harsh words that the author used to talk about India. In fact, I couldn't believe that one of my Indian friends, who is from Punjab (wait until you read how she feels about them) actually made it through the book without throwing it away. When we talked about this, he told me to give it a chance. He said that MacDonald's adventure in India is actually very beautiful and entertaining and that her initial culture shock (coming from Australia) goes away.

And--he was right! Not only was the story hilarious, but it was honest, and descriptive. I could see the colors of the women's sari's and could almost smell the dust and smog in Delhi. Not only that, I think that Sarah captured the beauty of the people of India and the variety of cultures, religions and beliefs that thrive there.

This book is a must read for anyone who is interested in India, has been there, or who would like a good laugh. But be prepared to be shocked at times, to feel scared for Sarah & Jonathon and to miss India when they leave.

The authors initial obervations of India are a little harsh, and a bit offensive, but give it time. As she grows and the story grows you will fall in love with her adventure!

I'm a prolific reader and there are only a handful of books I've started and not bothered to finish. "Holy Cow" is one of them.

MacDonald spends a lot of time describing how awful she found India, how little she thinks of Hinduism, and how WONDERFUL her WONDERFUL career in WONDERFUL Australia was (who outside of Australia has ever heard of her or her WONDERFUL work on Australian radio?) -- but mostly what she does is whine about how nothing on earth meets her rather adolescent standards.

I gave up after 100 pages of her tedious complaining.

I was looking for a lived-there book and this one is it! Fun, serious, always insightful observations shared by the author--who does not take herself seriously.

I've re-read this book about 5 or 6 times and each time found something different to enjoy. Ms. MacDonald is an engaging writer and her journey of understanding India (and Indians) will keep you reading until the last pages.

The USA is just too big to encompass in one book. Most things covered in this book can be found by searching the internet. Good reference.

Extensively researched and very well written - good humor makes the exhaustive details easy to read. Over the years, I have driven many of the roads travelled - and I wish I had this book with me in the past. I read through it and say "Oh yeah, now I get it" about many of the sights I have seen. Going to enjoy bringing it with me on future travels - this book gives me far greater insight than other such books I have read. Well laid out, great index and cross-references.

This is a wonderful book. The detail and how it is divided into areas makes it an easy read and easy to locate the information you want. I am extremely pleased with my purchase and I recommend to everyone whether you are going to travel or not.

Bought this for my recently retired parents for Christmas. They loved it. Kinda of a nudge out the door to experience life....

I recently completed a series of road trips around the U.S. with one of my children. We found Road Trip USA to be an indispensable guide to each section of the country we visited. The book was full of accurate recommendations and suggestions of what to see and what to avoid.

I found the passporter to be very helpful in planning our vacation. A year and a half ago I used the Disney Vacation Passporter and it was VERY helpful, even giving a few tips to make our trip MAGICAL (ask about riding in the front of the monorail). So it was only natural that this time as we plan our Disney Cruise Vacation, I would purchas the Passporter's Disney Cruise Line. Again, I found this book to be VERY helpful in planning this vacation. I feel very prepared for when we finally board the Disney Cruise Ship. I feel as though I know some of the ins and outs, as well as what to expect for many parts of our trip. I would recommend any of the Passporter's books when planning any kind of Disney Vacation. I'm VERY pleased with the information contained in the book.

This is THE book that Disney should include for free with your cruise. Everything you need to know for the cruise is included. The book includes highlighted chapter tabs to quickly find a section of the book. As a second-time cruiser, I found the book to have great tips for things I didn't do on the first cruise. Highly recommended.

I love this series of books. The authors are very thorough and detailed. This is a great book and will help you plan out a wonderful vacation!

Everyone who wants to take a cruise on the Disney Wonder or the Disney Magic should read this book. It is much better than the Birnbaum's Disney Cruise Line book. I highly recommend this book!!

This is a must-have for a first-time Disney Cruiser. I had never been and didn't want to feel surprised at every turn. This gave great specifics about the kid's program and even sample dining options at each restaurant. I know having this book saved me tons of money and lots of leg work. You definitely must leave room in your suitcase to carry it along. I referred to it nearly every day. There were a few updates that didn't make it in the book,(i.e. additional show times) so it's still important to ask questions of the Cruise Line. It sure answered most of my questions. Excellent! Easy to read for a first time cruiser, and a great memento that I enjoyed thumbing through after my trip was over.

We are talking our grandchildren to New York and I can't wait to share this book with them on Christmas Day. I love the illustrations and the simplicity of the text. It will be fun to let them plan our itinerary.

Great book but a poor job of printing/scanning ("Printed in China"). My copy just arrived and all the images look washed-out, with blurry grays where there should be blacks. The copy I saw at the Tenement Museum bookstore in New York did not look like this. Very disappointing. Same for my copy of "This Is San Francisco" that was also part of this order. Bleh.

I am so glad to have found this book, it is from my childhood. New York Rocks.

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!

This is New York is a great book that shows the diversity of New York City.

Everywhere we went on our month long blitz of Central America, we saw other travelers using this book. Anyone that wasn't looked on jealously. It was commonly referred to as "the Bible". The information on border crossings and buses could've been more extensive, but that's what other travelers were for. The recommendations on hostels were great, as were the highlights of things to do in each country. It's a heavy book, but a necessary item in your pack.

I have used Lonely Planet's "Central America on a Shoestring" on a couple trips to Central America. Just like every other Lonely Planet Shoestring Guide, it's been amazing. There have been some bad reviews of the book, so I think I should clarify who this book would best appeal to. If you want to stay in three and four star hotels in the tourist parts of town, take guided tours of everything you see, eat at expensive touristy restaurants, and basically don't care whether you ever encounter the "real" Central America, this book is probably not for you. If you are a backpacker, want to stay in hostels with other backpackers, experience as many "adventures" as possible, find all the sights yourself, dive deep into local culture and history, eat at authentic restaurants that attract mostly locals, ride the chicken bus, and basically wouldn't consider your trip complete unless it's as authentic as possible, then this book is right up your alley. If you are planning on visiting just one or two countries, this book will be fine. Just be forewarned that it does cram all of Central America into one book, so some of the info on sights and attractions is very concise. This book generally sticks to times, costs, and locations, plus a very brief description of each sight, with certain exceptions (Tikal has 5 pages, don't worry). If you think you'll want more than that, you might consider the individual country guides. The maps and info have all been 100% accurate. The coverage of hostels, restaurants, sights, and treks cannot be beat. And it puts all of this into one compact, easy to carry book. Highly recommended.

I just returned from Central America from a month long trip,during which I used this book exclusively. I've heard a lot of people knocking Lonely Planet's "on a shoestring" series but I found the book to be invaluable. The maps are excellent and provide a side legend that lists the area's Hostels bars and tourist spots. But aside from listing cheap places to stay "on a shoestring" is a fascinating read. Informative information is provided on travel safety, current events for the Central American countries (and their national parks) and important travel schedules(for instance, when I was in Gracias, Honduras the book showed that I had to catch a 4.am mini van to begin my journey out of the country. It showed exactly where the pick up was. I would of been lost and clueless if I didn't have the book). I found the book to be greatly helpful and every place I stayed or went was exactly how the book described it. The only problems I had was not every town they listed had a map and some of the prices they listed in the book where a little different in actuality(Most of the time $5 more but prices could of changed since the book was published)So. This is an excellent choice for backpackers and should definitely be their choice of guidebook for your next trip.

This guidebook is pretty much the best you can get if you only want 1 book to cover all of Central America, it covers all the main touristy places, and a few that are a little more out of the way (but definitely NOT off the beaten track).
There are some serious problems concerning organization. You have to do a TON of page flipping trying to figure out all the relevant information, this is at it's worst when it comes to using buses to cross borders. Another very irritating thing is that the "Getting There and Getting Away" sections really only contain information on getting away from that particular location, so you have to continually flip back to other cities to figure out bus costs, times etc..
Also, you have the classic problem of the book highlighting cool places that are not very popular, then they explode with people because so many people use this book. Some of the places they recommend feel like you never left the U.S.
Another problem, This edition is a just a little bit dated, a lot of the prices are a bit higher than they are listed, but this is due to the exchange rate for USD, so it's not really Lonely Planet's fault, just keep that in mind when calculating your budget!
But overall, I recommend it.

One note, this edition includes coverage of the southernmost part of Mexico, but this section is pretty inadequate, so buy a supplemental guidebook if you plan on spending some serious time in the region.

I have wonderful memories of my days as an ultra cheap backpacker who averaged about $5 a night for hotels while travelling around Central America in the late 80's-early 90's. But now, as part of a married couple approaching middle age, my wife and I are inclined to travel on a more mid-range budget. As one of only three companies that publishes a guidebook for the whole of Central America you would think that LP would be interested in reaching out to a broad range of travellers. But this book is very much geared for "shoestring" travellers only. Fodors is certainly a better choice for those who want options in a wider range of prices and perhaps Rough Guide is as well. I haven't yet read the Rough Guide book so I can't really confirm this.

This is a shame since LP does some things very well, particularly in terms of providing detailed information on places off the beaten path. LP usually provides excellent maps. But the ones in this guide were low quality and difficult to read. Also this guidebook often has an uptight and self-righteous tone to it. The earlier LP guides had a more free-spirited sense of fun. But nowadays the company has become way too "politically correct" for my taste.

In any case, I would encourage mid-range travellers to seek out the Fodors' guide and perhaps the Rough Guide one as well. This LP book still has it's good points but is too limited in its options for any but those on the most "shoestring" of budgets.

loved the book and the fact that it got here in time for me to read before giving it away as a gift...yes I read it first!

I really enjoy the Frommer's book series. It is great for both tourists visiting for a weekend, and also those who recently relocated to a new city. This book is immeasurably helpful and well structured.

I'm a Seattle mostly-native (been here for 20 years) and picked up this book so that my guests from couchsurfing.com might be able to use it to get around the city. Unfortunately, it hasn't been very useful for them because the vast majority of the stuff listed in the book is tourist traps. It might be a useful guide for an 40-50 year old plus person who likes chain restaurants, stereotypical tourist experiences, or for someone who's travelling with a family. However, if you're even remotely interested in visiting places where locals hang out, having experiences which don't cost an arm and a leg, seeing sights which you can see for free outside the confines of a tour bus, or eating at restaurants which are operated by locals for locals, I don't consider this guide very useful. A high percentage of the places it covers are downtown, but I don't know any local people of any age who hang out downtown unless they are there for work. Like any city I've ever visited, most of the interesting sights/restaurants/etc. are outside of the commercial/office downtown area.

I picked up a few other guides too... the most comparable is the Lonely Planet guide. I found it to be worlds better to the point where I would recommend it to almost anyone other than my grandma over the Frommer's. Other guides I found useful/interesting are eat shop seattle and not for tourists seattle.

We had great success with Frommer's in two previous cities on our extended trip, so we were excited that we had purchased Frommer's Guide to Seattle. It told us everything we needed to be successful tourists in the Pacific Northwest. We only had one day to be tourists, so after determining what we wanted to do--my wife and I had three kids in tow--we chose to be the ultimate tourists and spend time watching fish salesmen throw fish around at Pike's Market and walk around that part of the city. Later, we spent the afternoon in the Pacific Science Center and enjoyed the many interactive exhibits available there. Overall, I believe having Frommer's is a necessity if you want to accomplish the most you can, especially if you have a short time and are on a limited budget (like us).

FROMMER'S SEATTLE 2008 is a great new version of Frommer's great guidebook on the Emerald City. It tells you about great shopping, dining, exercise, recreation, and sightseeing. It does miss a lot of the malls, as well as lacking anything on local radio stations, so be sure to get the new version of LONELY PLANET SEATTLE in February, as well as FODOR'S SEATTLE 4TH EDITION, THE NEWCOMER'S HANDBOOK FOR SEATTLE, the new version of BEST PLACES SEATTLE, and THE SEATTLE GUIDEBOOK, 12TH EDITION, in addition to this one.

I love this book.... Lots of places to visit and excellent tips. Can't wait to actually use this book in Europe.

A lot of insight and tips on how to move around on a budget. I have yet to use it in the field though.

There's a lot of details on the important things you need to know when traveling. Examples include: what documents you will need in each country, transportation options and their costs, important phone #'s and some detailed maps of the larger cities. It's a good book for people who already know where they are going to but just want more information about it. There are no pictures, just black and white maps.

I was warned to brace myself for the story written by Rique Johnson in this book. I must say, I was not prepared to have my mind blown. The story left me craving more of the story. I feel I learned more about Rique Johnson and his personality. His passion oozes off the pages through his words. The storyline is amazing. Every time I thought I knew where the story was headed, Rique through in material that made my eyes pop open and my mouth drop. This is truly some of Rique's best work. I will offer the same warning that was presented to me, brace yourself. You are about to go on the ride of your life.

This was very refreshing erotica to read. The stories were so very hot (lol)and all of them with an even hotter twist.

Zane, please do this again....lol

Peace

A very good read. Each novella was well written. New comer Janice N. Adams is hot. Shawan Lewis's "For The Good Times" is my favorite. Rique Johnson wow!!! very good. Dywane D. Birch take a bow. Zane. Zane. Zane!!! never disappoints me. The stories keep you on the edge of your seat. The sex scenes my, my, my... in other words, read the book.

I had quit reading erotic novels for some time now, but when I saw Zane had a new collection out, I decided to check this one out. I like reading novellas cause it gives the reader a chance to check out some new authors. I loved, loved, loved Janice N. Adams story - girl you had me fooled to the very end! This whole book is a naughty,good read. Read it with your significant other to ideas--or get your motor running!

Usually, with a book of novellas, there is always the chance that one or a few of the stories may not be as good as the others. Well, Zane has managed to select excellent stories, all HOT, Captivating and Unique! The male authors are slamin! Don't be fooled - the female authors hold it down as well - including Ms. Zane's story, which is a delicious romance that was the perfect fit as the last story in the book. I strongly suggest this book as a nice start for summer reading - but DO NOT READ THIS ON THE BEACH - Unless you are with someone to cool you off! Dywane's story was my favorite - the Egyptian theme is fantastic!

Better than expected. Some novel and interesting techniques as well as anatomical knowledge put to use in unique visions makes for a very useful book for beginner and advanced sculptors. There is just enough personal and aesthetic information to make me want more. And, the focus on individual artists who then select other admired artists offers a sense of network and insight.

I am fairly new to building in clay, and I found this book a treasure trove of ideas and techniques by masters of the art. The book is beautifully illustrated, and each of the artists describes their personal vision with regards to their work and then gives a detailed description of the process and techniques used in creating a piece along with formulas for their clay bodies, glazes and firing techniques. I found this book very helpful and inspiring.

A rich and exciting collection of wonderful artists and a never ending wealth of inspiration. My favorite book of contemporary ceramic art

I've been wanting to get into ceramics for a while and this book was just the thing to get my creative juices flowing. It has many (500 actually) beautiful pieces to admire, with such a wide selection of styles. I love that it has a both beautiful and grotesque figures revealing so many artistic view points. It's definitely not a "how to" book, with just enough info to get a basic idea of how each piece was created but the beautiful photographs and wide variety of sculptures makes it well worth purchasing.

I have always wanted to do large scale figurative sculpture. There are not many books specifically on this subject. I found this book and said, "Yes, this has exactly what I want to know". I find it a wonderful resource. Vicki Stone-artist