Travel Books

A gripping book from the first page. I couldn't put Black Wave down! I so appreciate the realness and transparency Silverwood's shared in the retelling of their adventure. Thanks so much!

I would not take four children to sea in a catamaran. I would not climb Mt. Everest or marry a man with 17 wives. That's why I read adventure stories. I liked this book for the extreme drama of a wreck at sea, the gut-wrenching spectacle of a mother coming to terms with the fact that she has jeopardized her children, and because it is an examination of a marriage and family bonds within a highly compressed arena. As we know from Tolkien, the group must leave home on a quest, be exposed to danger, and come out the other side all grown up. This book satisfies those requirements with beautiful descriptions of ocean nights and exotic ports to boot.

Couldn't put this one down. It is written from two points of view, that bring the reader to the same conclusion. As a sailor, I find the narrative extremely interesting, and well written from an experienced wind sailor's perspective. Not to give away the later part of the story, I found it chilling, and poignant. The government employees involved deserve kudos from the sailing community as a whole for the timely and courageous responses. This fine story gives an excellent insight into those of us who voyage in our own boats, or live aboard boats as our life style. I thoroughly recommend Black Wave to sailors and non-sailors alike.

I can't believe all the great reviews on this...maybe these people read the book and it is different from the experience of listening to the CD. Jean and John not only put their own lives at risk but risked the lives of their three children (who had very little choice in the matter) to boot! I felt bad that the teenage son was unable to be with his friends at home in CA and instead was dragged around the world...exposed to violent seas and dangerous PIRATES all because his mom and dad apparently were bored with their lives (and marriage it seems) and needed to put some "zest" in it. I am sure they will make a movie out of it...but I will pass on it!

John and Jean Silverwood decide to put their busy daily lives aside and take their four children on a round the world adventure at sea. The Silverwoods feel as though the fast pace of life in San Diego has pulled the family in too many directions. They purchase the Emerald Jane and set of on an once-in-a-lifetime adventure with Ben (14), Amelia (12), Jack (7), and Camille (3). Using the sea and new ports as a school and hoping to satiate John's seemingly endless need for adrenalin, the Silverwoods also have to manage worries about pirates, unfriendly ports, balky generators and whatever the sea throws at them. The close quarters of the catamaran make clashes inevitable as Ben, missing his friends and diversions in California becomes sullen, Jean worries and John slips into old habits and the dream voyage threatens to become a battle of wills. However, the beauty of the sea, the sea life, new ports, discovering new friends and discovering new strengths within themselves, the Silverwoods keep on their journey until the unthinkable happens. The Emerald Jane hits a reef and the family`s survival depends on the lessons learned at sea.



This is an engrossing book that kept me hooked right till the end of the first portion. The portion about the Julia Ann and her crew and fate, not as interesting. I also had bit of a hard time with Jean's excusing John's behaviors (selfishness?) and putting herself down in comparison. That said, this is as much a tale of a family's growth as a tale of a journey

The book was sent promptly and was exactly as advertised.

Great service!

I read this book on the way to Sydney a couple of years ago at the beginning of a project assignment which called for me to spend about six weeks there. I enjoyed the author's writing style much more than a typical travel book. However, despite the light tone and the many humorous anecdotes, I found that Mr. Bryson really did effectively capture a "feel" for the culture. Time and again, as I interacted with the people while working with them, I was reminded of a passage in the book. I beleive that reading the book helped me relate to the people more easily. Highly recommended.

Everything you never knew about Australia, presented in entertaining prose. I'm reading this book for the 2nd time and enjoying it quite as much as the first. My only complaint with this book is the map provided in the front - hand drawn and almost completely useless, it shows maybe half of the places mentioned in the book.

I initially bought the CD version of Sunburned Country thinking it would keep me from driving off I-5 into a feedlot while traversing San Francisco to LA and back. As it turned out - Mr. Bryson's account is so much more than caffeine or background entertainment that I must revisit this book (without the roar of Big Rigs or BMW's) to experience the details, wonderful insight, amazing adventures and most of all - hilarious perspective that he brings to Australia. Hearing it read by the author adds the perfect pitch to this journey, which has made this "book" a treasure!!

Bill Bryson's take on Australia is hilarious. I'm going there in a few weeks and can't wait to compare my experiences with him. This is a book that will have you chuckling, laughing out loud and then marveling at his insight and sense of humor. A must read for anyone interested in Australia and that part of the world.

I was apprehensive about a surprise trip to Paris with absolutely no idea what to expect and no French language ability but after reading this book I'm ready to go and have the time of my life!

Rick Steves books are definitely overrated. Amazon had several reviews of positive ratings for his books. I would not recommend any of his books. His Paris travel book is modest at best.It does not offer direct and clear picture of Paris. His major weakness is the lack of good detailed maps. Do not buy this book. In Paris you can easily get free street and metro maps.Not only are they free but very practical.

I purchased this book for my first trip from Australia. The information was accurate, easy to read and has become a great resource even after my trip for labelling my pictures etc. It has worn very well considering how many times I have referred to it.

Rick's recommendations and advice for places to eat, sleep and visit were all without fault. I read the book from cover to cover before left home.

Rick's museum tours were made so much easier with photos of works of art worth seeing and the descriptions were perfect for my previous lack of art appreciation.

I have recommended the book to many people planning a trip to Paris. The information was so reliable that I would not hesitate to buy a current edition on a return trip to Paris so I knew I had up to date info at my fingertips.

This is the best book on Paris. And it appeared that every American in Paris that we saw was carrying one! We had the Lonely Planet Paris also and a Frommer's but left them in the apartment and carried this one. I had faxed one of the recommended hotels ahead of our trip and while we chose to rent an apartment the hotel was going to honor what was promised by Rick Steves. We learned quickly that when it came to museums and Versailles to follow Rick's instructions. We were not disappointed. We especially liked the walking tour maps.

I have used Rick Steves book to plan my Paris visit this Christmas, and it has great information for travelers who want to mix with the local culture. I particularly like the all the details he provides because they often make the difference between a 'good' trip and a 'great' trip.

The book was so small it wasn't worth the time it took to open it.

I just can't get enough of Karen's books. She does a wonderful job. The only problem with this book is that I wish it would have been longer. :-)

This is a novella from the Karen Moning books that feature characters from the MacKeltar storyline. All I can say is...READ THIS BOOK! It is a great mixture of magic, highlands, passion & humor. The characters are well developed and get you itching to read the rest of the MacKeltar books (#1 "Kiss of the Highlander" - (Drustans story),#2 "Dark Highlander" (drustans twin), #3 "Immortal Highlander" (Adam Black - side character interacting w/ MacKeltars), #4 "Spell of the Highlander" (part of MacKeltar clan), #5 "Highlander's Touch" (seperate story linked w/ Adam Black), #6 "Into the Dreaming" - a novella that features the fairy queen mentioned in the other books. NOTE: This is my suggestion for the order to read them in. There is not real official order in which to read them. All I know is once you finish this book, you will be itching to read the rest. ENJOY!!!

Those of you unfamiliar with Karen Marie Moning may be disappointed and pout when you realize that this book is a bit of a novella. Personally, I am always sad when her books end because I have to wait for the next one. I don't feel that this book is a disappointment at all. It is a gentle transition into the Fae series and without this little installment, how will you understand where the Seelie Queen is being held prisoner??? Read it and consider it a sneak peek or a bridge between those delicious McKeltars in Scotland and Mac in Ireland.

Wow...an excellent read with Jane Sillee & Aedan MacKinnon, a union of soul mates with her given only thirty days to make him remember their inseparable tie or lose him forever to Unseelie King as Vengeance. Sometimes a short, humorous, cleaver story of the best romance is all we have time for in this busy world. I, for one, inquired as to how any pages to expect when I purchased it...no surprise there. This is a well written story of a fantastic time and place. I highly recommend this and all Karen Marie Moning. I will, no doubt, read this one a dozen more times.

The Magic Tree House Series is a great learning tool for children to pick up on history, science, etc mixed in with some adventure and fantasy.

Our five year old son is an early reader, and one of the problems we've had is finding good books that are challenging enough, yet age appropriate and interesting. A lot of the chapter books we found to be written more for children 7 years or older, and these didn't hold much interest for him, maybe because the material was too complex. On the other side, if the material was age appropriate they were written in a repetitive style using simple words that he found too boring. These books are just the right mix of interesting, exciting, and age appropriate, and we're glad to have found them. He was becoming bored with reading anything other than magazines, and these books have re-sparked his interest, which is exactly what we were looking for.

I bought the Magic Tree House books 1 through 16 for my eight year old daughter. She loves them. She reads a book in two days. She can relate to the stories and has an easy time explaining what she read. This is a great start-reader for children. Mary Pope uses a healthy combination of every-day words and with some more advanced verbiage. Though my daugter doesn't always understand the big words, she is introduced to them. This challenges her comprehension. I would recommend this series to parents of children ages 7 to 9.

Actually, I'm buying this series of books for two sets of grandchildren. When I started, it was to excite them about the world of books, rather than TV and video games. This series was recommended by my sister who is a teacher's assistant in a pre-school.

The endeavor has been successful so far. One of the grandchildren had stated that he never wanted to learn to read! Now he is doing very well reading in school and is developing a passion for books. He carries HIS books everywhere. Another reads the books to his younger brother and they both have improved their skills in school.

These books are great for starting children on a life-long path of reading!

My 7-year old son read all four the first day we got them. I asked him if he thought they were good and he said "They're better then good; they're
AWESOME!" ... nuff said! :)

This book has alot of content, but not the things that I needed. There are cartoons, and there are lots of personal annectodes submitted by readers. And it does not work well as a quick reference if you are trying to find the answers to some simple questions. You really have to want to read it to get anything out of it. At the last minute we were confused as to where our hotel shuttle would be leaving us, and how to proceed on our first morning, but the book was too big to stuff in our backpack on our way into the park. We ended up ripping apart the book to get the parts we thought we might use. Frankly I was much better versed, having read the Frommers guide which I had borrowed from the library earlier.

I did get a little advice out of the "touring plans" in the back of the Unnofical Guide. It worked as a rough guideline for us, so that we knew which section of the Magic Kingdom to hit first in the morning. But we did not need the book to plan the whole day. We enjoyed doing things at our own pace and -- oh yeah -- we had a great vacation.

Great at covering all of the details you need to know to plan your trip to Disney World. One of the best vacation guides I've ever read. Also great if you have kids since it covers each ride and gives rating based on scary factor, etc. so that if you have a 2 year old (like we did) you can get a sense of what may be too much for them or not.

I've been a travel agent for 20+ years, and always send this book to my clients who are visiting Walt Disney World as a little gift to help them plan their trip. I must admit that it can be a bit "daunting" because it's a thick book, and there are really no pictures to speak of. . . but it's FILLED with GREAT information! All of my clients have just raved about the book. If I had any "complaint", it would be that it will sometimes give specific room numbers that are the best, so sometimes clients don't understand that the hotels do not actually assign your room number until you arrive at the hotel. Anything can be made as a "special request" before you arrive, but in reality, you'll receive whatever is available at the time you check-in. The earlier you check-in, the better your chances of getting the room you want, if it's available.

Also, I used to work at Walt Disney World. . . and honestly. . .I like the fact that this is the "unofficial" guide, meaning that Disney has no control over it. I also really like the fact that there's information about other things to do in Orlando as well. It's a very good overall guide to the area.

This book was fantastic in guiding my planning. Very comprehensive and detailed; touring plans are great and they work. I tagged so many pages in my planning process...my husband laughed at how much time I was spending on this trip planning but midway through our first day at Disney, he couldn't thank me enough! Good insight on fear factor for young children, fast pass info accurate plus plenty of tips for things you wouldn't normally think of doing/having on hand for a 'regular' vacation. Highly recommended!

This book is amazing. There are many Disney guides out there and this one has all the info from all the others combined. Yes, it is a huge book and it does not have pictures. There are other books for pictures. This book is jam packed with all the info necessary from the beginning stages of planning your trip to every aspect imaginable at Disney World.

I used this book to plan a 10 day trip to Disney World staying at a Disney World resort. Their reviews of all the resorts, parks and restaurants are lengthy, informative and all right on. I was able to choose the restaurants I wanted to dine at by their indepth reviews and charts.

For Disney I always use two books. This one is the basis for all my research in planning the trip plus the Passporter Guide which also has excellent reviews and info plus is also a book that becomes a souvenier of all the things from your trip. A great combo.

Many praise the Birnbaum guide but for me that one is merely a large colorful brochure for Disney and does not provide helpful information. I can make my own colorful memories when in Disney.

I highly recommend this book but be prepared for the size of it and also the huge amount of info. All your travel questions will be answered here and then Disney will be that much better.

I purchased this set as part of my travel kit for entertaining my 2 & 4 yr old during a cross country move. I was amazed by their ability to keep my kids attention and I enjoyed the distraction as well. We've listened to them several times since. Including a 8-hr drive with just me and the kids and no DVD player. The CDs made the road trip no problem.

I bought this primarily for my five year old (although I think the toddler benefits from hearing it as well) while we're riding in the car, because we spend at least 30-45 minutes per day in the car. She loves listening to the stories and for the most part listens intently and occassionally asks questions about what is going on in the story and why Jack or Annie said or did something in particular.

The audio book is the way to go; much better than getting a DVD/TV player installed in your car. The author, Mary Pope Osborne, does a good job inflecting her voice to engage my daughter. I highly recommend this audio book series for anyone with youngsters who need a distraction while in the car.

We have 2 more stories left in this disc set and I plan on buying the next series as soon as I get tired of hearing this set over and over again!

My 4 year old little girl received this set for her birthday and she just loves it. We are about to finish the last story and she is already asking for more stories about Jack and Annie. We listen on the way to pre-school every morning. The stories are so well told that it's easy to imagine all the wonderful places that Jack and Annie travel to in the mysterious magic tree house. I would recommend "The Magic Tree House" stories to anyone for their child.

My six year old reads these books and loves them. I hesitated when I ordered the CD's thinking she would not want to read the rest of the series. That was not the case. It is important to get auditory input as well as visual input to the brain and these are keeping her attention and building her reading endurance.

My 2nd grader does not like to read. I bought these cds to encourage the reading process. Just starting in chapter books this year has been a huge change from simple picture books. Reading the books along with the cds has helped the books seem more interesting and easier to get to the end without getting discouraged or distracted.

I find this book hard to put down, as I am really enjoying reading about the real life of Chinese citizens.

The Last Days of Old Beijing: Life in the Vanishing Backstreets of a City Transformed is like a New Yorker article that goes on forever, and I mean that in a good way. Michael Meyer's writing is engaging and personal. He skillfully interweaves characters, various settings, interviews, and lots of thorough research.

The book is tailor-made for those readers with an interest in city planning, the social aspects of design, or historic preservation, although anyone who has ever lived in a neighborhood will enjoy it, too. I highly recommend it.

Michael Meyer has crafted an engaging, sometimes funny, sometimes sad account of his life in Beijing. The people, places and occurences draw you into everyday situations in Meyer's current life. The mix of historical references is just right for those without a semester of Chinese History 101 in their past. Having recently visited Beijing, the author compels me to check my bank balance for the funds to return and find his neighborhood. Read this book - you won't be disappointed.

Reading my way through translated Chinese literature, I've found that there's so much assumed knowledge that words flip by without leaving their mark. Meyer is the remedy to the problem. He's not a giddy traveler, pausing for a week or two, observing and moving on again. He stayed put, settled down, got a job, all in the backstreets of Old Beijing. He is soon accepted as a part of the community, not so much as a foreigner, but as a teacher. It's a patient, somewhat wistful book. Meyer isn't a romantic, he understands that for many, a working toilet and electricity will be welcome as they leave the old, winding streets behind. But he also conveys what will soon be lost, and more importantly, gives us a background to the vast rebuilding project that has uprooted more than a million Beijing citizens, producing the stories of his neighbors to give us a focused view. In the context of China in the 20th Century, the Olympic push seems more of a strange continuum from the Japanese Invasion, through the Great Leap Forward and into the 21st Century. Meyer writes well, but this is a rather beautiful dirge and like all dirges, you'll find that it relies on playing the same notes again and again. Still, a beautiful and timely book, at least for the summer of 2008 and a glimpse beyond the pomp of the Olympic welcome.

About halfway through The Last Days of Old Beijing a question entered my mind. How long can Michael Meyer sustain a book which keeps repeating that Beijing's hutong are being torn down? The answer, to be frank, is 309 pages. I never tired of this one idea even though I expected my typical impatience to kick-in. This was a damn fine read.

So many ideas are floating through my head as I try to capture my reaction. Michael Meyer is a bit of a true believer. In some senses, this characterization portrays him as a romantic who has fallen in love with the hutong and its intangible cultural patterns and meanings. Yet, it also means he goes further than the rest of us, and that is something to be respected. How many times have I, or perhaps you, been to a museum or read the literature and dreamed of what it must have been like to experience life in another time or place? What empowers this book is that its author has done exactly what we only dream of. He moved to China, lived in a hutong, and made this experience all his own. The distance that allows us to safely consume the experiences of others is a divide that Mr Meyer has stepped over.

Consequently, this book is a portrait of what is to me another time and place, though it is present tense for our author. The portrait is a romantic one, his love of this place in every way seems genuine, and the sense of loss is compelling. Early in the book Mr. Meyer is cautioned by the police that living in a hutong is not safe, he stays and we are gradually introduced to a cast of characters such as the Widow, Recycler Wang, Miss Zhu, Soldier Liu, and Zhang Jinqi. Accounts of each are spread throughout the book, giving us yet another perspective on the hutong and reminding us that this special place in Beijing has no single meaning, as the Hand would have us believe.

The Hand is never seen or heard from, but its mark in well known. Overnight a character is drawn on the side of buildings scheduled to be demolished. Nobody knows who paints this symbol or how the decision is made. The Hand is not something you can speak to, as some folks might tell us in a movie or humorous commercial. Here the hand is power, authority, and decisive. The Hand is government. The residents learn they must move once this symbol appears, and they know there is nothing to be done. Hundreds of thousands of people have been subjected to this treatment.

And it is the Hand's action that destroys the hutong, and so much more. In other chapters we go through an extensive history of Beijing's history and development. We learn how a man-made mound protects the city center from negative energy coming down from the north and open roads allow positive energy from the South to radiate into Beijing unimpeded...or once did. We also learn about Chinese architectural history, a series of catastrophes and wartime acts that either built or destroyed portions of Beijing, and the various political leaders and groups at the center of these stories. Throughout it all, the hutong play an important role. In one sense, the Hand is no different as it tears at Beijing and reshapes the city into a modern marvel for the world to see at the 2008 Olympics.

But Michael Meyer does a wonderful job of not allowing the hutong to get lost in such broad strokes of history and distanced interpretation. He keeps our feet on the ground and shows the hutong are filled with fascinating people, a unique and rich culture, interesting foods, and more. Here I paraphrase, and the people themselves are quoted as saying we are merely poor, but we are not bad. We see that beautifully in Mr. Meyer's portrait.

came on time and in good condition! And very inexpensive compared to about 15 dollars at the book store!

Aptly named, this is a stunning story of courage, strength and perseverance. Good medicine for a nation of whiners.

This account of Shackelton's expedition to Antarctic is a read like no other. I could not put this book down,nor could I believe the constitution each person on the crew had to continue forth under such insurmountable odds. The author, Lansing has provided a compelling book. His research of events are smoothly seamed together captivating the reader. Even if ones interest usually doesn't lean toward the topic of explorer, I promise you this book will consume you. Its message is especially good for any of us who may be feeling "overwhelmed" by what our lives are tossing our way... you will be giving thanks at the comforts you have by comparison to this expeditions minimal articles to provide their continued existence. As another reviewer mentioned, buy the hard or soft-cover not paperback version as these include all of Hurley's photographs which are essential to this book-seeing is believing and you won't believe what this photographer captured. Enjoy, you will share the events of this book over and over with many.

The true story of Shackleton's exploration is an amazing testament into the power of strong leadership. Shackleton's leadership skills helped the entire crew to overcome seemingly impossible circumstances to achieve the end goal. This book chronicles a life lesson for all of us to know and understand. Although parts of it are hard for the non-seaworthy to understand, the book is still a good read. I found it hard to put down.

The extraordinary record of Ernest Shackleton and his company of the "Endurance". They set out for the South Pole, but their shp was caught in pack ice, and eventually destroyed. Read how Shacckleton and a few members of his crew set out in one of the ship's boats to find rescue for the remaining men. Courage and loyalty in the extreme.

This is an excellent book that should be read by anyone curious about present-day China and the economic juggernaut that they have become. The author looks at their situation not from the macro side (the big picture - China's economy is thus and thus, growing from this to that in X amount of time, etc.) but rather he looks at it from the micro side: through the stories of everyday folks who are working in this new economy, many of whom he knows very well. Some lived through the Cultural Revolution and have a lot of baggage left over from that experience, while others were born after all of that and have grown up in the post-Mao era when China finally woke up and embraced capitalism (in its own way). It is one of the best examples of narrative non-fiction that I have read, and was hard to put down.

I really loved Peter Hessler's Rivertown and found Oracle Bones just as enjoyable. The author's style of writing is original and surprising, at unexpected points of his books. I studied in Taiwan in the mid-70's and found Peter Hessler's descriptions of the Chinese to be very similar to my own experiences. I get the feeling that there are others who are finding his writing just as enjoyable - a few days ago I was in the Denver airport and saw a copy of The New Yorker with his article about the Olympics listed at the top. He is a wonderful writer and anyone picking up this book will finish it knowing quite a bit more than he did before starting it.

I've read it before going to sleep and more than a few times it made stay up later than I wanted. The book is well written, without artful gimmicks (it doesn't try hard to be literary), but also without the cliches and boring turns of phrases one sees in modern 'reporting'.
The book weaves the past and the present. The past appears in the form of the oracle bones that belonged to the Shang dynasty. Hessler talks to old scholars, people who dedicated their lives to the study of ancient Chinese history; he finds out how their lives were affected by the Communists and ruminates on the importance of writing for Chinese culture.
The 'present' part of the book looks at ordinary people and the way they lead their lives in this fast-changing society. Hessler is clearly aware that this is not a free society, but he doesn't hit you over the head with it: instead, what he cares about is these people - their stories, aspirations, dreams. Some of them are former students and friends, and he doesn't shy away from getting involved in their lives.
All in all a pleasure to read.

I brought this book with me when I moved to Shanghai, China and eventually got around to reading after 2 months of living here. I have previously studied many of the topics he had touch base upon in his book, from the history of oracle bones, to the current politics (such as Xinjiang's struggle for independence). I even took a class once (ancient history of china) where a professor had criticized the book for being misinformed on its information regarding the oracle bones. All this considered, I kept an open mind when reading Mr. Hessler's novel and ended up enjoying it greatly.

I enjoyed the fact that Mr. Hessler took a different route when writing this book. He focused a lot on the individual stories of Chinese citizens, while sliding in factual events, history, and culture. This made the book as enjoyable as a fiction novel. Most of the facts in the book were previously known to me, so in some ways, I was a bit disappointed (looking forward to enhance my knowledge on the region). But like I said, it was the individual people he met on his journeys through China that made the book a page-turner. I would suggest this book for anyone who has any interest in China, or just a good story about a different culture. If you are in the Asian/Chinese studies field you may find this book a little below your level. Although you may, like me, end up enjoying it for what it is, entertaining!

I enjoyed the book very much because author use his point of view to describe his journey through his students, friends and travel through out the China abut the feeling toward past, today and the future of China.