General Books - Page 5

Happyslapped by a Jellyfish: The words of Karl Pilkington

Karl Pilkington

Amazon Price: $13.60 List Price: $20.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: DK ADULT Amazon Marketplace: 33 new & used starting at $11.83

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Subjects -> Entertainment -> Humor -> Essays
Subjects -> Entertainment -> Humor -> Satire
Subjects -> Entertainment -> Humor -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 21 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Ohh Chimpanzee that...Monkey News you fffff.... 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Karl is the king, but he has become a lazy king, and his subjects are getting restless. MORE PODCAST NOW YOU ORANGE HEADED MONKEY FREAK!!!!

...And there better be new monkey news included in the podcast...I'm just sayin'....

But about the book....Great book. Karl's an idiot, but strangely, his book creates a very enjoyable read. I esp. liked when he talked about the squirrles in Carmel, CA. I live by there, and I've seen those squirrles, and I want to go back and see if they've been traumatized by meeting Karl.

Awesome 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Great book. Karl IS a genius, Ricky is the idiot, I know this cos im a genius and if Karl isn't one then im not, but I am, so he is, so there. Love it!

Editorial Review:

A collection of baffling, hilarious, infuriating yet curiously compelling insights and anecdotes, diary entries, poems, "true" facts, cartoons, and assorted witterings concerning travel from the mind of Karl Pilkington, the unlikely star of the Ricky Gervais Show, the World's funniest and most successful podcast.

A Year in the Merde

Paul West

By: Red Garage Books Amazon Marketplace: 4 new & used starting at $11.52

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Subjects -> Reference -> Writing -> Travel
Subjects -> Travel -> Europe -> General
Subjects -> Travel -> Europe -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 71 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Laugh out loud funny 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Not a page turner by any means, but laugh out loud funny! I really enjoyed this book, took my time reading it, and am rather sad it's over... :)

The Author Wants SEX! 1 out of 5 stars.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Sadly, this is a book that falls victim to misleading advertising. The title and book description would lead one to assume this to be a travel memoir about our hero's experiences trying to get a chain of British tea rooms off the ground in France.
If you buy, or as I (fortunately) did, borrow the book from your library it won't take you long to come to the conclusion that in an attempt to make the book saleable and "real" the thing is written less as a travel memoir and more as a sexual misadventure. For, in truth the main recurring theme of this book is the narrator's failed attempts to bed women...any women...women he barely knows and for whom he doesn't care.

Now that's fine and I'm sure the hero of A Year In The Merde is not the first, nor will he be the last fella to go to France with getting laid as his main goal in life.

This goal is, however, not universally endearing, and is in fact quite off putting for a large number of the reading public...like the female reading public---quite a lot of those out there actually.

His constant attempts to prey upon people for sex are not endearing, not charming, and worst of all...not entertaining.
Last time I looked guys in their teens and early twenties weren't the major audience stampeding to buy stories about life for expats living in France.
Yes, there are insights into the French, but they are incidental and largely overshadowed by nearly continuous comments about women and their undergarments, lack of undergarments, attractiveness, and willingness to bed the narrator.
Casting a humorous light on the French people or the French culture is secondary.
Since my interest in France is NOT primarily focused on scoring with chicks...I was disappointed. Depending upon your interest, your mileage may vary.

Rick Steves' Florence and Tuscany 2009 (Rick Steves)

Rick Steves, Gene Openshaw

Amazon Price: $12.21 List Price: $17.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Avalon Travel Publishing Amazon Marketplace: 42 new & used starting at $10.57

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Subjects -> Travel -> Europe -> Italy -> Florence
Subjects -> Travel -> Europe -> Italy -> Tuscany
Subjects -> Travel -> Europe -> Italy -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 16 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Buy the Rough Guide instead! 1 out of 5 stars.
6 of 7 people found this review helpful.

I came across this in an apartment in Florence, wisely jettisoned by a traveler who had more useful things to carry in their luggage.

Steves' book IS quite good at the very practical nitty gritty of Florence: for example precisely how one collects pre-reserved Uffizi tickets, but his comments on cultural aspects are at best token and often stupid. Not everyone will want, like me, to know all about as much of the art as possible in a book about Florence, but for a travel guide to cover, say, Santa Croce and make reference to only one painting when the place is full of the most glorious and important fresco cycles by major figures is inexcusable. If the information is there, one can ignore it, but if it isn't, you might return to the US (the prime market, I imagine) and realise that you have been within yards of great paintings but the guide book didn't GUIDE you to go and look at them. Instead, in Santa Croce, he refers to admittedly interesting monuments, but fails to refer to the finest (Bruni's), he's only interested in the famous names.

His grasp of the art is very poor and he seems to address his readers as though they are 12 year olds needing asinine jokes to keep their attention. For him medieval painting is a world of never-neverland (his phrase) where the poor painters are struggling desperately to paint realistically but just can't do it! Simone Martine's Uffizi Annunciation is patronised: he can't see its beauty and sees it as a mere stone on the pathway to realism. Mary 'doesn't look too impressed': a good point if he only had the wit to see that perhaps the responsibility of her role is frightening and overwhelming - it's a very moving and human piece, but his approach seems to be,'Why try to elucidate when you can be folksy and jocular'. An early crucifixion is mocked for having Christ's head raised as on a wedge as though this is a pathetic effort at three-dimensionality when it is pretty obvious that the angle would enable viewers to see Christ's face (and suffering) more clearly from ground level and has little to do with aspiring to realism. He also says that the Siena Pinacoteca (a gallery full of wonderful Sienese painting) would tempt him in only if there was a downpour! (I dread to think what nonsense Steves writes about, say, Picasso, if REALISM is the criterion by which all is judged.)

A cardinal sin, for me, is the advice to 'leave this guide face up' in a number of restaurants to gain a reduction. When I travel I like to try to be as little like a tourist as possible, while still obviously being one. I know I stand out like a sore thumb, but Steves seems happy to be as obvious as an amputated leg. And what sort of arrangement leads a guide book writer to 'negotiate' deals for his readers? All very sad, especially as Steves seems to be the Guru of European travel for Americans. Perhaps he suits those, like the previous reviewer who praises Steves for enabling him to 'do' Pisa in 45 minutes and not miss anything, though how he would know he hadn't missed anything is beyond me.

The Rough Guide does everything Steves does well just as effectively, while the cultural stuff, whether great art, architecture etc or jazz clubs, bars, cinemas, clubs - is in another league. If you want a detailed guide to the art and history of the city, see American art historian Eve Borsook's Companion Guide: it has the art, the history and is a really good unfussy read.

And if you want to get a guide to the UK, PLEASE don't buy Steves': I dread to think what rubbish he writes, on the basis of this offering.
Not even worth the one star the site requires me to give!

Editorial Review:

Rick Steves’ Florence & Tuscany 2009 is the definitive guide to Europe’s cultural capital and the surrounding Tuscan countryside. Rick includes expert advice on exploring the endless cultural sights of Florence, from the Bargello, the prison-turned-museum that houses works by Michelangelo and Donatello, to the Duomo, the Gothic cathedral complete with the first Renaissance dome. Rick also covers the quant hill towns of Tuscany, where travelers can enjoy Etruscan art and some of Italy’s finest wine. With self-guided tours of all the major museums and tips on transportation, accommodations, and dining, Rick Steves’ Florence & Tuscany 2009 allows any traveler to experience everything that this remarkable region has to offer.

In Europe: Travels Through the Twentieth Century

Geert Mak

By: Vintage Amazon Marketplace: 4 new & used starting at $16.27

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Subjects -> History -> Europe -> General
Subjects -> History -> Europe -> General AAS
Subjects -> Travel -> Europe -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Fluent Broad Brush Treatment 5 out of 5 stars.
10 of 11 people found this review helpful.

This is almost in the unputdownable category, with the additional pleasure of its capacity to be dived into at any chapter, or to be savoured chapter at a time. Mak's personal travels through the countries that now comprise Europe throughout 1999 bring to his research a somewhat mordant contemporary tone to his impressions. I can, from travels this year, certainly confirm the mood he paints of Istanbul, Chatting there with expat Poles, Hungarians, Bulgarians and Romanians only spread the paint wider, not thinner. The book's historical aspect, much of it new to this reader, whatever arguments might be fussed over with the details, are unlikely to be challenged. Much of the regions have received their specific historical treatment by other authors, and Mak acknowledges his readings. But few writers have presented the broad picture with such verve.

This book is unique. 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

I did not choose this book. It was presssed upon me by a very intelligent friend. "Well," I thought, "I'm not
sure that even an intelligent friend is worth trusting for an 800 page history of Europe in the twentieth century."

Oh, was I wrong. The book is a stupendous achievement. Truly, can one think of another book (in only 800
short pages) that is able to contain a complete century, and all the countries, of Europe? And he does it with
an artist's eye. Lord, how well this man can write. I reach out to you, to whoever has happened upon this
review, and urge you to buy this book. i read it through just as I would have a novel, and plan on re-reading
it straight through again. Take the plunge. You won't be sorry.

Rick Steves' Amsterdam, Bruges and Brussels (Rick Steves)

Rick Steves, Gene Openshaw

Amazon Price: $12.21 List Price: $17.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Avalon Travel Publishing Amazon Marketplace: 47 new & used starting at $9.35

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Subjects -> Travel -> Europe -> Belgium -> Brussels
Subjects -> Travel -> Europe -> Netherlands -> Amsterdam
Subjects -> Travel -> Europe -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 17 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

September Trip 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

We recetnly traveled to Amsterdam, Bruges, Brussels and Antwerp. We used Rick's book to select the hotels and the areas to visit versus the bigger name publisher review books (like Let's Go and Formers, etc.). We picked three hotels from his book. Two of the three hotels were great, while one was a bit noisy. Even the hotel that was a bit noisy was a clean, smart hotel in the St. Caterhine neighboorhod section of Brussels. We found his book and recommmedations to be well written, clear and true to form. We also used Fromers guidelbook, in campanion to Rick's, but did not find it to be local enought to our needs. We ate almost exclusively at the restaurants is his book, traveled to the sights, used the train systems and used the maps in his book for our trip. Sometimes when you use a book like this you get one or two great places to stay or to eat, but, with his, it was truely a satisfying experience to go to his book's places and come away satisfied.

We saw other travelers in the regions we visited using his book as well.

We will definitely recommmend this book to novice travelers as well as repeat travelers, and defintely buy one of his books again.

Editorial Review:

Who but Rick Steves can tell travelers the best ways to meander around Amsterdam's Van Gogh museum, explore its maze of canals, and find the tastiest breweries and restaurants? With Rick Steves’ Amsterdam, Bruges and Brussels, travelers can experience everything Amsterdam, Bruges, and Brussels have to offer – economically and hassle-free. Completely revised and updated, this guide includes: opinionated coverage of both famous and lesser-known sights, friendly places to eat and sleep, suggested day plans, walking tours and trip itineraries, and clear instructions for smooth travel anywhere by car, train, or foot. America’s #1 authority on travel to Europe, Rick’s time-tested recommendations for safe and enjoyable travel in Europe have been used by millions of Americans in search of their own unique European travel experience.

Lonely Planet Iceland

Fran Parnell

Amazon Price: $15.63 List Price: $22.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Lonely Planet Amazon Marketplace: 57 new & used starting at $13.87

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

well written but not well photogrpahed 4 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

The book was helpful as a reference, but lacked in the type of photography I have enjoyed in other LP guides. As we all know, a picture is worth a thousand words- I find pictures are helpful for me to identify the must-see places whether they are the most popular or not. I thought the book was a great reference but it didn't necessarily help me plan my trip. I'd seek out a book with more pictures, or search blogs to pair with the information in this guide.

Editorial Review:

Discover Iceland

Test the echo while swimming in warm blue waters inside a Volcano at Viti crater.
Play the wild thing and join the runtur, a mad pub-crawl around Reykjavik's progressive nightlife.
Break the silence as you roar across Vatnajokull icecap on a snowmobile.
See the fjords in a new light on a guided midnight kayaking tour.

In This Guide:

Two expert authors and over 800 hours of on-the-ground research.
New inspirational itineraries for chasing the northern lights or finding a summer spot to whitewater raft.
Get an Icelander's perspective on immigration, religion and the current music scene in an all-new Culture chapter.

In Cod We Trust: Living the Norwegian Dream

Eric Dregni Dregni

Amazon Price: $15.61 List Price: $22.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Univ Of Minnesota Press Amazon Marketplace: 21 new & used starting at $13.00

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Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Ethnic & National -> Scandinavian
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Memoirs
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> General

Editorial Review:

Eric Dregni’s great-grandfather Ellef fled Norway in 1893 when it was the poorest country in Europe. More than one hundred years later, his great-grandson traveled back to find that—mostly due to oil and natural gas discoveries—it is now the richest. The circumstances of his return were serendipitous, as the notice that Dregni won a Fulbright Fellowship to go there arrived the same week as the knowledge that his wife Katy was pregnant. Braving a birth abroad and benefiting from a remarkably generous health care system, the Dregnis’ family came full circle when their son Eilif was born in Norway. In this cross-cultural memoir, Dregni tells the hair-raising, hilarious, and sometimes poignant stories of his family’s yearlong Norwegian experiment. Among the exploits he details are staying warm in a remote grass-roofed hytte (hut), surviving a dinner of rakfisk (fermented fish) thanks to 80-proof aquavit, and identifying his great-grandfather’s house in the Lusterfjord only to find out it had been crushed by a boulder and then swept away by a river. To subsist on a student stipend, he rides the meat bus to Sweden for cheap salami with a busload of knitting pensioners. A week later, he and his wife travel to the Lofoten Islands and gnaw on klippefisk (dried cod) while cats follow them through the streets. Dregni’s Scandinavian roots do little to prepare him and his family for the year in Trondheim eating herring cakes, obeying the conformist Janteloven (Jante’s law), and enduring the mørketid (dark time). In Cod We Trust is one Minnesota family’s spirited excursion into Scandinavian life. The land of the midnight sun is far stranger than they previously thought, and their encounters show that there is much we can learn from its unique and surprising culture.

Europe by Eurail 2008: Touring Europe by Train (Europe By Eurail)

LaVerne Ferguson-Kosinski

Amazon Price: $12.89 List Price: $18.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: GPP Travel Amazon Marketplace: 45 new & used starting at $7.35

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Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Transportation -> Railroads -> General
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Subjects -> Travel -> Europe -> General

Customer Reviews:

Useful Book 3 out of 5 stars.
1 of 7 people found this review helpful.

This looks like a very useful tool for once we are traveling, but a little less so for planning ahead.

Lonely Planet Paris

Steve Fallon

List Price: $15.99 By: Lonely Planet Publications Amazon Marketplace: 23 new & used starting at $0.01

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Subjects -> Travel -> Europe -> France -> Paris
Subjects -> Travel -> Europe -> France -> General
Subjects -> Travel -> Europe -> France -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 22 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

A big list of restaurant that are useless for a backpacker 3 out of 5 stars.
3 of 4 people found this review helpful.

. The information about the history of Paris was Ok.
. Ok with the walking tour
. All the highlights and backdoor are inside this guide

BUT...looking with a backpacker eyes..

. They should reduce the big restaurant list and make a better explanation of the highlights is the sight section.

Just for your information, I love Lonely Planet...this is a constructive recommendation that I give to all the city guides...

Another important thing, specially for what they call "A city guide"...they should give more information (map and path) of the buses. I found it difficult to understand which bus is convenient to go from one place to another.
I wanted to use the bus in Paris intead of metro to see the beautifull places, but I couldn't. And I will not mention how difficult is the way back to the hotel using the night transportation.

So, I think, less restaurant and better transport and sight information. Yes, I know that you can buy maps and whatever...but...I am paying more that US$15 for a city guide, man...

Editorial Review:

-- scores of eateries, including the best cafes to start the day with a petit dejeuner -- the lowdown on Paris' vibrant entertainment scene, from classical music to cabaret revues -- special section on architecture, including the grand projets -- excursions to Chantilly, Fontainebleau, Vaux-le-Vicomte and Versailles

Fodor's Paris 2009 (Fodor's Gold Guides)

Fodor's

Amazon Price: $12.89 List Price: $18.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Fodor's Amazon Marketplace: 45 new & used starting at $10.98

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Subjects -> Travel -> Europe -> France -> Paris
Subjects -> Travel -> Europe -> France -> General
Subjects -> Travel -> Europe -> France -> General AAS

Editorial Review:

Fodor’s. For Choice Travel Experiences.

Fodor’s helps you unleash the possibilities of travel by providing the insightful tools you need to experience the trips you want. While you’re at the helm, Fodor’s offers the assurance of our expertise, the guarantee of selectivity, and the choice details that truly define a destination. It’s like having a friend in Paris!

•Updated annually, Fodor’s Paris provides the most accurate and up-to-date information available in a guide book.

•Fodor’s Paris features options for a variety of budgets, interests, and tastes, so you make the choices to plan your trip of a lifetime.

•If it’s not worth your time, it’s not in this book. Fodor’s discriminating ratings, including our top tier Fodor’s Choice designations, ensure that you’ll know about the most interesting and enjoyable places in Paris.

•Experience Paris like a local! Fodor’s Paris features choices for every traveler, highlighting ways to dazzle the senses with mouth-watering food; how best to explore the city’s magical neighborhoods, magnificent museums, and spectacular gardens; where to laze the day away at a café; and where to find the city’s best shopping.

•Indispensable, customized trip planning tools include “Top Reasons to Go,” “Word of Mouth” advice from other travelers, and tips to help save money, bypass lines, and avoid common travel pitfalls.

•Pull-out map and 8-page color insert

Visit Fodors.com for more ideas and information, travel deals, vacation planning tips, reviews and to exchange travel advice with other travelers.