Travel Books

i read this book 24/7 because of love the make out seen and paul i think paul is a hottie but he a jerk somtimes but he ok i would love to be a mediator so i can kiss a ghost so it can help me out with my life it would be very awesome!!

I love the mediator books so much and I want them to go to book seven maybe even ten. I've gotten addicted to them and I don't want them to end at 6.

The story line continues and this book is just as exciting and exhiliarating as the rest in this series. I would highly recommend this book and the previous in this series. Excellent read!!!!

This series is a lot of fun to read, but I did feel that the ending was a little too perfect. Everything tied up in a perfect bow. Throughout the book, I felt that the story was lacking a good central plot to work around. From the beginning, we knew Paul was up to something, and shortly after, we knew what it was, but for some reason, Suze couldn't figure out the obvious. Suze was just confused and unsure and shallow most of this book which is very unlike her character. However, the ending was just what the reader would wnat and I am very glad I read the book. I liked the series so much I had to read all of it in one week. Read it, but it isn't the best in the series, but you'll be happy with the ending. I am left wanting to understand Paul better, but maybe that is for another series. :)

I thought the sixth and final book in the mediator books was an awesome book. It solved all the questions I had about what was going to happen in the end, and it answered them in a very unexpected and extremely pleasing way. I totally recommend this book, but I recommend reading the first five Mediator books before reading this one so you have a better idea of what is going on.

Gerry Roach has written one of the best guide books I have ever had the pleasure of owning. If you have the basic experience needed for climbing 14'ers this book is extreemly usefull. Complete and well written from approaches to technicial route descriptions. $ 12 bucks. Huh ? Oh the one negitive is you would not want to through this book in your ruck sack it weighs about 5 lbs.

This is the definitive volume on all Colorado 14ers. It includes detailed information from locations of trailheads to routes and photos that will allow even a novice to safely climb in Colorado.

I bought this book for my husband and he loves it. He has been to Colorado 3 times and always reads it before he goes and takes it with him on the trip.

This should be the backbone of anyone's guidebooks for climbing 14ers. It is extremely well organized and has tons of useful data. You will not be dissapointed. Get the book and get out there!

I have climbed two of the Fourteeners listed in this book and I wish I had this book before doing so. The book is simply, in my opinion, the best, most complete guide to climbing these mountains that I could possibly imagine. I'm doing four more this month and I've used this book to do all the planning, including which TOPOs to buy and which trailheads to use and which routes up the mountains to take. He provides excellent maps in the book itself and great descriptions of each ascent. He also carefully describes the different levels of difficulty a climber/hiker will encounter and applies those definitions systematically throughout his book. It's a first rate guide and worth every penny paid.

There aren't many good histories of New Orleans available and this is one of the best and most comprehensive (as far as how much of that history it covers...i don't mean to imply it is a complete history) i have come across. For those who know the New Orleans area well, the anecdotes regarding characters who have generally been lost to history for whom bridges, neighborhoods, and streets are named will fascinate and amuse. Overall the information and the reverent tone with which it is presented make this a must read for both citizens and lovers of the City of New Orleans.I have made this a gift for a half dozen friends and family.

as enlightening as it is it has a couple of major problems. It just peters out at the end as if the author lost focus and couldn't figure out what to do about it. The chapter on the "Indians" seemed to be just tacked on! It was as if it was taken from another book. It didn't fit this book at all. Maybe it would have if the author had continued his narritive in a linear fashion. I'm surprised the publisher or editor let this glaring problem go! Also there is the VERY tiresome rehashing of the "Did Tom sire Sally's children " routine. To further the sin the writer uses this as premise to launch into an anti-Jefferson rant. This is amateurish and I'm again surprised the editor didn't rein the author.
Thomas Jefferson had his many flaws as did all the founders but I doubt he was as evil as the author makes him out to be. Other than those problems I enjoyed the book very much!

Sublette has done an amazing job pulling together political, cultural and social elements into a very compelling narrative. And super-informative too. Extremely impressive historical writing (and this is coming from a history major).

I LOVE how international and broad the perspective is. He really illuminates the dynamics of the time in a fantastic and vivid way.
It's seriously among the most readable and thorough books I've read.

Ned Sublette, author of Cuba and Its Music, embarks on a daring undertaking in a detailed and complete history of the Big Easy. Sublette spent the 2004-2005 year in New Orleans, leaving just three months before Hurricane Katrina hit and the levees broke, changing the city forever; making this book all the more meaningful and emotional.

With extensive research, Sublette starts at the very beginning, explaining the topography and geology of the Mississippi River and the substantial yet flooded Mississippi Delta, and how there was simply nothing that could really be built there before the advent of water pumps created the potential for draining of the area. In a time when the land that would one day be Louisiana was being fought over and used by the Spanish, French, and British, while every piece of natural resource in this part of the world was being used for the benefit of the Western World, coupled with the unceasing influx of slaves, a group of settlers began a town that would one day become the great city of New Orleans. Inhabitants included an influx of forced citizens from France consisting of prostitutes and convicts.

From its genesis, New Orleans was composed of an entire world of nationalities, cultures, faiths, and languages. Like the spine of the book, Sublette uses music as the backbone of The World That Made New Orleans, discussing the influences and developments of these different people, many of them slaves. It is a city that, after the catastrophic events of Hurricane Katrina, will never be the same - like New York missing the World Trade Center skyline. Thankfully, Sublette does an incredible job of revealing the many chapters in the history of New Orleans.

For more reviews, and writings, or to buy yourself a copy, please visit www.alexctelander.com

I checked this book out when I was planning a trip to New Orleans. Initially I thought it was not what I was looking for but Ned Sublette's style was so laid back and appealing that I kept on turning the pages. When the time came for me to return the book, I wasn't done so I purchased it. The history is fascinating and rich in detail as to why New Orleans is decidedly Caribbean in its history and culture. I never knew how much the Spanish had influenced the creation of New Orleans. I really enjoyed the intricate history of how the French, Haitians, Cubans and Americans also came into play. My only complaint is that there was so little mention of the Native American's influence that I am unsure if that is because they had no real influence or if they were just overlooked.

I hope the publisher comes out with a digital edition of this book. I would love to have it on my Kindle. Like Charles C. Mann's 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, it is the sort of book I would like to have handy to consult or re-read sections of.

If you have ever visited Provence, reading "Encore Provence" will ensure a flood of pleasant memories. Homesick for Provence, Peter Mayle leaves his home in America (he is originally from England) and returns to his true love, France.

What really keeps the French trim and healthy? What prevents olive oil from quickly turning rancid? How can you ease a sore throat with lavender essential oil?

Peter Mayle answers these questions and more. His writing has a rare warmth and his descriptions of restaurants makes you want to experience every nuance. Whether he is visiting a distillery or explaining the process of buying a house, he tells the story with a sense of adventure.

Since Peter Mayle loves to watch people more than TV he provides some interesting descriptions of village inhabitants. He tells his stories with a sense of relish and he even made Marseille sound more exciting. This book made me wish for another bottle of olive oil I found in Cassis on a weekend trip I made to Provence. It also reminded me to buy another bag of Fleur de Sel.

I can also recommend: A Year in Provence

~The Rebecca Review

For an unexplained reason, Peter Mayle and his unnamed wife (presumably the "Jennie" of the dedication) left paradise in Provence for Long Island. In Encore Provence, he returns to the south of France, where the food, wine, and slow pace of life again absorb his attention.

Even less structured than Toujours Provence, Encore Provence covers familiar territory from new angles. "The Unsolved Murder of the Handsome Butcher" and "Recipe for a Village" address both the insularity and charms of village life ("Recipe" much less successfully), while "How to Be a Nose," "Discovering Oil," and "Friday Morning in Carpentras" provide insights into the perfume, olive oil, and truffle industries, respectively. In one of the best chapters, "Restaurant Critic Makes Astonishing Discovery," Mayle effectively and humorously discredits Ruth Reichl's flippant dismissal of Provence. How could a serious critic, after only a month's visit, write, "I had been dreaming of a Provence that never existed"? To help the reader find ripe tomatoes--which Reichl could not manage to do--and other products of Provence, Mayle provides the names and places for markets, vineyards, restaurants, bakeries, and producers of goods like olive oil and honey. It becomes clear that Reichl could not find Provence because she actively avoided it; perhaps she thought that deflating the expectations that Mayle helped to create was a better story than simply reinforcing them.

Several chapters, like "Curious Reasons for Liking Provence" and "Eight Ways to Spend a Summer's Afternoon," reveal one of the problems with Encore Provence--the lack of significant new material. More filler than substance, they are more like random personal essays than integral parts of a cohesive work, as though Mayle could not think of a better way to frame his random observations. These chapters are forced, splintered, and almost unnecessary.

Surprisingly, there is a less of a sense of place. In the previous Provence books, Mayle's stone house, with its location abutting public forest, its isolation from traffic, its drawn-out renovations, its pool that attracts thirsty sangliers, and its quirky neighbors like Faustin and Massot, gives the reader a strong sense of a place with personality. The house is at the heart of A Year in Provence. In Encore Provence, it is not clear that Mayle and his wife return to the same house or what their neighbors are like. Even the dogs are mostly absent. Without structure and intimacy, Encore Provence is nothing more than a series of disconnected travelogue stories. Perhaps weary of intrusions into his privacy, or perhaps unclear about the reasons for the first book's success, Mayle distances himself from his reader.

There may not be much left for Mayle to say about Provence. He writes that, due to building restrictions, not much has changed. Yet he notes that "the garage and the geese are gone, and the farmhouse has sprouted wings and annexes . . . the vines have been groomed" and "the refugees' urge for rapid [gardening] results has spawned an industry: instant gardens, shipped in and set up with astonishing speed." These are only a couple of small changes, to be sure, but in time there will be more, and Provence will alter slowly and subtly. Mayle should know that that is the nature of change in the countryside and that, with enough demand, pressure, and money, change can accelerate, transforming a village into a resort town or farmland into suburbia.

Even if you cannot visit Provence, much of the lifestyle that Mayle describes--with food and drink of varying type and quality--is still available in many places outside France. The slow pace, the fatalistic viewpoint, the elderly gossips and moralists, the close-knit relationships, the helpfulness, and the beauty and quirks of the countryside are found in many regions. If you are as observant and open as Mayle, you may be able to find your version of Provence closer to home.

The book was everything I expected...but y'all sent it in paperback. I never buy a book that I do not want to keep....and I never buy and keep paperback books.

Food, the air, water, the land and the people in the South of France. The book beautifully took me thru life in this person move to this area.

Peter Mayle effectivately takes us once again to beautiful Provence through his second book. His writing is witty yet very unassuming and laid back. He gives the reader vivid and often funny accounts of the land and its people. He has an uncanny ability to observe the smallest details in the Provencal locals that he meets and to express it in a very entertaining way through his books.

I love collections of stories about any one country, all rendered in one book. They allow true insight into the geography, demography, religion, and customs. This book on Thailand is superb. The stories about the cities, villages, the parks, the forests, people, absolutely beautiful and incredible. Getting around doesn't sound as cumbersome as some reports from acquaintances. Taking the water route in Bangkok instead of taxis sounds delightful, and the stories on the "sex trade" don't make it sound so awful.

After reading all the tales, I feel as if I had actually been there. I hope to find more books on other countries just like this one.

Well written; excellent research. Will be using the book during my stay... I want to visit all these wonderful places that are off the track.

This book arrived in great condition. It is a very helpful guide to first time visitors to Thailand

I've traveled to Thailand twice and studied Thai language for a year and a half at university. This book, for my money, is the best introduction available to the land, people, and culture of Thailand. It is not a straightforward travel guide; it is a way into the country without being explicit. As a westerner, from the essays contained in this book, I learned so much about a culture - and land - that is so different than the culture and land of the United States. Topics range from religion, agriculture, politics, and customs, to the bar scene, prostitution, and nature, etc etc etc. After reading this book you will come away with a fuller sense of who Thai people are and what Thailand is as a nation.

My favorite story is 'Mein Gott, Miss Siripan' by Susan Fulop Kepner. I love this piece so much I must have read it about twenty times now. It recalls the story of Kepner's beginning struggles learning to speak Thai while living in Bangkok on business. Her characterization of the fierce and indomitable Miss Siripan - her language teacher - is a classic; one of the most memorable characters in all of literature. Kepner, by the way, is now professor of Thai language at Berkeley. If anyone knows her or will meet her soon, please tell her that I am a HUGE fan of her writing! Khap khun!

This is a hybrid bewteen guide book and an anthology of travel stories. Quite a novel concept, except that it doesn't work so well as a guide book. There are only a couple of dozen pages on visas, weather and other practical issues towards the end of the book. This book works much better as a collection of beautifully essays - some of the best work by authors like Pico Iyer, Joe Cummings, Ian Buruma and many others.

These essays are highly varied in terms of style and theme. Some are downright romantic and introspective. Some provide a little insider's information on things that most tourists miss out. Some are incisive social commentaries which touch on subjects which may be considered taboo by the sensitive Thais. The editors have attempted to organise the articles in 4 main parts, namely:

1.Essence of Thailand
2.Some Things to Do
3.Going Your Own Way
4.In the Shadows

The 5th part only has one essay. The way these parts are named may cause some confusion. For instance, "some things to do" may contain Pico Iyer's musings on the impact on Thai tourism.

I would give it 5 stars for the great prose, highly enlightening pieces like "Who Was Anna Leonowens" by William Warren and the brutal honesty of many of the articles that are not afraid to go against everything the travel brochures tell us. It's an extremely goo read for people who wish to explore the kingdom or stay awhile. But for the somewhat misleading format and arrangement, I would minus one star.

A Fabulous book, obviously written by someone who knows and loves the islands. Thank you for helping make the most of our vacation.

Great book for traveling to the BVI - if you are sailing i would recommend a BVI sailing book instead!

This is a super guide for anyone visiting the BVI, either on a sailboat or not. It is about as accurate as it can be, considering signs fade and fall down. We have been there 6 times and always used the previous edition, and this new one is even better. If you are going there--buy this book.

This book is a very good guidebook to visit greek island.
It contains a lot of useful information for tourists.

This is a tremendously useful book. It's even the book we dragged around the sites in Athens with us, while the ones with lovely pictures, specifically for Athens, stayed back in our hotel room.

This was the book I threw in my purse every morning on my cruise through the Greek Islands. I'd highly recommend it to anyone going to one or all. For me, the most important feature was that it detailed every island that we stopped at, including a port in Turkey and some very small islands - something the Frommer's and Eyewitness Travel books didn't do - and included a street map of at least the main town each. Although I did not use the ferry guides, they appeared to be very thorough and easy to use. In addition to the islands, the book also details Athens, the port at Piraeus, and several other ports along the Aegean Sea. This book was a great resource, helping me and everyone who borrowed it on our trip.

Greek Island Hopping is a must-have volume for travelers to the Greek isles: the maps, island descriptions, ferry information, etc. go above and beyond its competitors. I just got back from 2+ weeks in the islands & Athens and used this as my primary companion guide during that time. Sometimes it can come off a bit as too backpacker or party-seeker oriented, but this impression can be deceptive because the guide is nicely balanced with a good deal of information on the history, mythology, and culture of the land as well. It has a wealth of helpful information on Athens, a wise inclusion given that most travelers to the islands will likely throw a few days in Athens into their itineraries as well.

That said, this guide has two significant limitations ... one which manifests itself before you leave for the islands, the other is a problem once you get there. That would be SLEEPING and EATING concerns, respectively. Personally, the lack of hotel information is less of a problem given the wealth of information on the internet from reputable sites these days, but the complete lack of dining information was a large drawback for me. It made the Lonely Planet guide to the islands--which is otherwise inferior to Island Hopping in just about every way--a similarly indispensable resource for that narrow purpose. In the islands, it's very easy to pay a lot for bad food, so having some idea of what places to seek out and which to avoid would be very helpful because the good, the bad, and the ugly are often all located on the same street. It really shouldn't be that hard to list a couple of places for each town or island.

Despite these fairly major drawbacks, I still give this guide 5 stars because the wealth of maps, information, and helpful guidance makes this guide a must-have companion in spite of its warts. I imagine the writers want to avoid making the guide too long, but they really do need to consider adding some eating & sleeping information to compete with the "big names" like Lonely Planet and Frommers.

This book was the perfect companion for our cruise of the Mediterranean. It had a map of all the major towns of each greek island (I looked at almost every other guide for the Greek Islands and this was the only one that had that). We wanted to explore the islands on our own instead of taking a shore excursion so this was exactly what we were looking for. The maps were detailed enough that we could get around without any problems. It also included Athens which was a huge bonus. It had sections on history and the main sights of each place.

Two possible downsides to the book. 1. The information on lodging was pretty skimpy and the book is definitely geared more towards backpackers (it has information on camp sites which might be useful if you are a backpacker). 2. There really is no section on food so if you depend on your guidebooks to point you in the right direction for this, you're out of luck.

If I was doing my own tour of the Greek Islands, this book would have gotten a 3 or 4 star rating given what it lacked in lodging and food. I would have had to buy another book like Frommer's or Fodor's for the information it was missing. For a cruise, this was exactly what I was looking for.

This book is a great guide on how to get the most of of a visit to Seattle. Why visit a new city or place without knowing what to see? We always have limited time and money and so having a great guide is a must. Frommer's Seattle hits on all cylinders and I was very glad to have investing in it before visiting the wonderful city of Seattle.

Easy to read, easy to find stuff, tips on how to get the most our of even short visits. Not a lot of fluff.

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).

This is a wonderful "coffee table" book and quite the conversation piece, too. It makes you smile and laugh right out loud at the different church signs across the United States of America. It was a wonderful Christmas gift and arrived in a very timely manner.

I bought this as a gift for my conservative grandparents. I thought it was hilarious, but they took it seriously! They loved it! I think it would be a great coffee table book. Each sign is pictured along with the church and below is the city and state. Very interesting when comparing the sign with the state. Would definitely recommend this.

This book was exactly what I wanted. Pictures of church signs on every page without commentary. The only words are at the bottom of each photo where it tells what city and state the photo was taken in.
It is a small, hardcover book that makes a great gift.
Some of the signs are inspiring and others are just, plain funny.

THIS BOOK WAS JUST GREAT, SHOWING CHURCH SIGNS ACROSS AMERICA. I HAVE SHARED IT WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY ALIKE, AND ALL AGREE IT IS WONDERFUL. THANK YOU FOR THE CHANCE TO OWN IT.

The pictures are decent, but beware the book is MADE IN CHINA. I would have concerns about children or animals getting a hold of the book and chewing on it. Customers should have been informed this book is Chinese made prior to purchase. For God's sake, can't we even produce books in this Country anymore?!