Reference & Tips Books - Page 2

1,000 Places to See Before You Die: A Traveler's Life List

Patricia Schultz

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 308 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Lots of Fun! 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

The spirit of this book is well exemplified by a quotation from Mark Twain (Page xv): "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the tide winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." So, the author advances a listing of places throughout the world worth discovering. This is a companion piece to another volume of hers, in which she explores 1,000 places to see within the United States.

The world is divided into eight regions, for the purposes of organizing discussion: Europe; Africa; the Middle East; Asia; Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands; the United States and Canada; Latin America; the Caribbean, Bahamas, and Bermuda.

In a brief review here, it would be impossible to illustrate each region in any depth. Maybe some samples from a few of the regions. Needless to say, any selection like this is apt to engender discussion--Why were some places left out? Why were others included? But that's part of the fun of a book like this!

Europe: Some of the usual suspects like Windsor Castle, Winchester Cathedral, London, the Salzburg Festival, Vienna, Paris, Versailles, the Brandenburg Gate, and the Sistine Chapel. But there are other treasures as well: Bellagio, Rhodes, Ile de Re, Kinsale, and Ludlow.

Africa: The Great Pyramids, Abu Simbel, Jack's Camp in the Kalahari Desert, the Cape Winelands, and so on.

United States and Canada: Kenai Peninsula, Monterey Peninsula, Telluride, South Beach, Art Institute of Chicago (one of my favorite art museums), Art Gallery of Ontario, Nimmo Bay Resort, Polar Bear Safari, and the like.

This is fun simply to browse. Choose a page at random and fantasize a trip there. . . . Again, lots of fun!

Editorial Review:

Around the World, continent by continent, here is the best the world has to offer: 1,000 places guaranteed to give travelers the shivers. Sacred ruins, grand hotels, wildlife preserves, hilltop villages, snack shacks, castles, festivals, reefs, restaurants, cathedrals, hidden islands, opera houses, museums, and more. Each entry tells exactly why it's essential to visit. Then come the nuts and bolts: addresses, websites, phone and fax numbers, best times to visit. Stop dreaming and get going.

State by State: A Panoramic Portrait of America

Matt Weiland, Sean Wilsey

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 44 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

From the bestselling editors of The Thinking Fan's Guide to the World Cup comes an American road trip in book form: original writing on all 50 states by 50 of our finest novelists, journalists, and essayists

Inspired by the example of the legendary WPA American Guide series of the 1930s and '40s, now 50 of our foremost writers have produced original pieces of reportage and memoir that capture the 50 states in our time, creating a fresh portrait of America as it lives and breathes today.

At turns poignant and funny, and always insightful, these 50 writers tell us something lasting and revealing about each state through personal memory or contemporary reporting that captures the essential qualities that make each state its own. With an array of revealing facts and figures comparing the 50 states in a range of surprising measures (toothlessness, military enlistment, suicide), State by State is more than an anthology: It is a classic American road movie in book form.

Featuring original writing on all fifty states

Alabama by George Packer
Alaska by Paul Greenberg
Arizona by Lydia Millet
Arkansas by Kevin Brockmeier
California by William T. Vollmann
Colorado by Benjamin Kunkel
Connecticut by Rick Moody
Delaware by Craig Taylor
Florida by Joshua Ferris
Georgia by Ha Jin
Hawaii by Tara Bray Smith
Idaho by Anthony Doerr
Illinois by Dave Eggers
Indiana by Susan Choi
Iowa by Dagoberto Gilb
Kansas by Jim Lewis
Kentucky by John Jeremiah Sullivan
Louisiana by Joshua Clark
Maine by Heidi Julavits
Maryland by Myla Goldberg
Massachusetts by John Hodgman
Michigan by Mohammed Naseehu Ali
Minnesota by Philip Connors
Mississippi by Barry Hannah
Missouri by Jacki Lyden
Montana by Sarah Vowell
Nebraska by Alexander Payne
Nevada by Charles Bock
New Hampshire by Will Blythe
New Jersey by Anthony Bourdain
New Mexico by Ellery Washington
New York by Jonathan Franzen
North Carolina by Randall Kenan
North Dakota by Louise Erdrich
Ohio by Susan Orlean
Oklahoma by S.E. Hinton
Oregon by Joe Sacco
Pennsylvania by Andrea Lee
Rhode Island by Jhumpa Lahiri
South Carolina by Jack Hitt
South Dakota by Saïd Sayrafiezadeh
Tennessee by Ann Patchett
Texas by Cristina Henríquez
Utah by David Rakoff
Vermont by Alison Bechdel
Virginia by Tony Horwitz
Washington by Carrie Brownstein
West Virginia by Jayne Anne Phillips
Wisconsin by Daphne Beal
Wyoming by Alexandra Fuller

and an afterword on Washington, D.C.: A Conversation with Edward P. Jones

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail

Bill Bryson

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 71 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

A Long, Slow Walk To Nowhere ... 3 out of 5 stars.
3 of 4 people found this review helpful.

Some things we never seem to learn, like judging a book by its cover. In this instance, the cover of "A Walk In The Woods" looks inviting enough, even exciting, with the picture of a bear staring you down.

False advertising.

If "A Walk In The Woods" had been a TV show, it would have been named Seinfeld, but without the humor, because it is truly a book about nothing. Two guys decide to walk the Appalachian Train for different reasons. However, they don't actually hike together, they don't meet a lot of compelling other people and they never see a bear, or a bobcat either. Huh?

Instead, the reader is subjected to lengthy prose about the stark glories and occasional majesty of the AT, the shelter accommodations for hikers, or lack thereof, and a pile of pages filled with administrivia about the history of the trail.

Yikes! Our reluctant heroes did not even reach their destination, or come close ("a detail").

So, what did we learn from this reading experience? Not much, although it did addle my brain in regard to my neighbor who has contracted every conceivable disease, some very serious, in his pursuit of walking sections of the AT. But, he has probably already read this book and given it a 5 star rating.

Editorial Review:

The Appalachian Trail trail stretches from Georgia to Maine and covers some of the most breathtaking terrain in America–majestic mountains, silent forests, sparking lakes. If you’re going to take a hike, it’s probably the place to go. And Bill Bryson is surely the most entertaing guide you’ll find. He introduces us to the history and ecology of the trail and to some of the other hardy (or just foolhardy) folks he meets along the way–and a couple of bears. Already a classic, A Walk in the Woods will make you long for the great outdoors (or at least a comfortable chair to sit and read in).

Assassination Vacation

Sarah Vowell

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 135 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Sarah Vowell exposes the glorious conundrums of American history and culture with wit, probity, and an irreverent sense of humor. With Assassination Vacation, she takes us on a road trip like no other -- a journey to the pit stops of American political murder and through the myriad ways they have been used for fun and profit, for political and cultural advantage.

From Buffalo to Alaska, Washington to the Dry Tortugas, Vowell visits locations immortalized and influenced by the spilling of politically important blood, reporting as she goes with her trademark blend of wisecracking humor, remarkable honesty, and thought-provoking criticism. We learn about the jinx that was Robert Todd Lincoln (present at the assassinations of Presidents Lincoln, Garfield, and McKinley) and witness the politicking that went into the making of the Lincoln Memorial. The resulting narrative is much more than an entertaining and informative travelogue -- it is the disturbing and fascinating story of how American death has been manipulated by popular culture, including literature, architecture, sculpture, and -- the author's favorite -- historical tourism. Though the themes of loss and violence are explored and we make detours to see how the Republican Party became the Republican Party, there are all kinds of lighter diversions along the way into the lives of the three presidents and their assassins, including mummies, show tunes, mean-spirited totem poles, and a nineteenth-century biblical sex cult.

Birnbaum's Walt Disney World 2009 (Birnbaum's Walt Disney World)

Birnbaum Travel Guides

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Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Birnbaum's Walt Disney World, the most respected and well-known name in travel guides, takes readers to the world's most popular tourist attraction. Since ours is the only guidebook that's official, this book includes the most accurate information on prices, changes, and new attractions for 2008. Highlights include the scoop on "Magical Beginnings," Walt Disney World's specially tailored, money-saving vacation plan for families with pre-schoolers, and updates on Pleasure Island's new venues, eateries, and shopping opportunities.

This new edition includes the scoop on the surprises in store as Disney's Hollywood Studios (formerly known at the Disney-MGM Studios) marks its 20th anniversary.  We'll also take an insider's look at the thrilling new interactive attraction, Toy Story Mania. Other updates include new tips and Birnbaum's Bests; all the insider info about stage shows, parades, and nighttime spectaculars; prices and ticket options; customized travel tips for teenagers, international travelers, guests with disabilities; and a comprehensive character meal chart to help guests pick their favorite dining spots.

Into Thin Air

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1492 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Unabridged!

When Jon Krakauer reached the summit of Mt. Everest in the early afternoon of May 10, 1996, he hadn't slept in fifty-seven hours and was reeling from the brain-altering affects of oxygen deprivation. As he turned to begin his long, dangerous decent from 29,028 feet, twenty other climbers were still pushing doggedly toward the top. No one had noticed that the sky had begun to fill with clouds. Six hours later and 3,000 feet lower, as the storm swept the peek with seventy-knot winds and blinding snow, Krakauer collapsed in his tent, freezing, hallucinating from exhaustion and hypoxia, but safe. The following morning he awakened to learn that six of his companions hadn't made it back to their camp, and were in a desperate struggle for their lives. When the storm finally passed, five of his fellow climbers would be dead, and the sixth so horribly frostbitten that he would have to have his right hand amputated. By the time all expeditions had quit the mountain and departed Nepal, twelve people had perished on the slopes of Everest.

Into Thin Air is the definitive, personal account of the deadliest season in the history of Everest by the acclaimed journalist and author of Eiger Dreams and Into the Wild. On assignment from Outside magazine, Krakauer, an accomplished climber, went to the Himalayas to report the growing commercialization of the planet's highest mountain. Everest has always been a dangerous mountain. From the first British expeditions in the 1920s until 1996, one climber has died for every four who have attained the summit.  This shocking death toll has not put a damper on the burgeoning business of guided ascents, however, in which amateur alpinists with alarmingly disparate skills are ushered up the mountain for a $65,000 fee.

To ascend into the thin, frigid air above 26,000 feet--the cruising altitude of a commercial jetliner--is an inherently inrrational act. The environment is unimaginably harsh, the margin for error minuscule. Krakauer examines  what it is about Evereest that has compelled so many people--including himself--to throw caution to the wind, ignore the concerns of loved ones, and willingly subject themselves to such risk, hardship, and expense. Written with emotional clarity and supported by his unimpeachable reporting, Krakauer's frank eyewitness account of what happened on the roof of the world is a singular achievement.

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: 25th Anniversary Edition

Robert M. Pirsig

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 528 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Self-Absorbed, Self-Pitying Rubbish 1 out of 5 stars.
6 of 14 people found this review helpful.

I agree with many of the other one-star reviews, this is actually the worst book I have ever read, out of thousands read, in my entire life. The worst book designation goes to Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance because it is extremely, extremely, over-rated. I found it to be one of the most self-absorbed, self-pitying, whining complaints I had ever been exposed to - and I know about those, because I'm a former junior high school teacher.

Not only did it not contain any philosophical insights whatsoever, the book is just plain boring and badly written. The only book I have ever thrown in the garbage can - it's just rubbish, and that's where it belongs. I'm sure the author is a fine human being. I just think he wrote a very, very, bad book. Please don't waste your time on this book.

Editorial Review:

The narration of a summer motorcycle trip undertaken by a father and his son becomes a text which speaks directly to the confusions and agonies of existence, detailing a personal, philosophical odyssey.

Don't Go There!: The Travel Detective's Essential Guide to the Must-Miss Places of the World

Peter Greenberg

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Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

We've all suffered through bad vacations: tourist traps, endless lines, rundown hotels, and the worst airports on earth. Before you book your next trip, get all of the facts--that "idyllic" beachfront hotel could really be one of the world's hellholes.In this follow-up to his New York Times bestseller, The Complete Travel Detective Bible, Peter Greenberg shares his experiences and hard-won knowledge of where not to go and why, so you can make sure your big vacation isn't to a dismal destination.From dangerous roads, crime-ridden cities, and countries overrun with disease to depressing destinations, polluted beaches, and place that (literally) stink, the ultimate travel expert leaves no stone unturned, no garbage heap unexplored, to list the locations you should forget even exist.Backed up by information he has been compiling for years, Greenberg unapologetically exposes misrepresented resorts, corrupt countries, and cringe-worthy cruise ships so that travelers can confidently pack their bags and avoid vacation tragedy.

We Are Soldiers Still: A Journey Back to the Battlefields of Vietnam

Harold G. Moore, Joseph L. Galloway

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 13 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

In their stunning follow-up to the classic bestseller We Were Soldiers Once . . . and Young, Lt. Gen. Hal Moore and Joe Galloway return to Vietnam and reflect on how the war changed them, their men, their enemies, and both countries—often with surprising results.

More than fifteen years since its original publication, the number one New York Times bestseller We Were Soldiers Once . . . and Young is still required reading in all branches of the military. Now Moore and Galloway revisit their relationships with ten American veterans of the battle—men such as Sgt. Maj. Basil Plumley and helicopter pilot Bruce "Old Snake" Crandall—as well as Lt. Gen. Nguyen Hu An, who commanded the North Vietnamese Army troops on the other side, and two of his old company commanders. These men and their countries have all changed dramatically since the first head-on collision between the two great armies back in November 1965.

Traveling back to the red-dirt battlefields, commanders and veterans from both sides make the long and difficult journey from old enemies to new friends. After a trip in a Russian-made helicopter to the Ia Drang Valley in the Central Highlands, with the Vietnamese pilots using Moore's vintage U.S. Army maps and Galloway's Boy Scout compass to guide them, they reach the hallowed ground where so many died. All the men are astonished at how nature has reclaimed the land once scarred by bullets, napalm, and blood. As darkness falls, the unthinkable happens—the authors and many of their old comrades are stranded overnight, alone, left to confront the ghosts of the departed among the termite hills and creek bed.

Moore and Galloway combine gritty and vivid detail with reverence and respect for their comrades. Their ability to capture man's sense of heroism and brotherhood, their love for their men and their former enemies, and their fascination with the history of this enigmatic country make for riveting reading. With sixteen pages of photos, tributes to departed friends and loved ones, and General Moore's reflections on lessons learned throughout his military career, We Are Soldiers Still puts a human face on warfare in a way that will not soon be forgotten.