Parks & Campgrounds Books - Page 3

Hikernut's Grand Canyon Companion - A Guide to Hiking and Backpacking the Most Popular Trails Into the Canyon: Bright Angel, South Kaibab & North Kaibab Trails

Brian J. Lane

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 11 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE FOR ANYONE WANTING TO HIKE INTO THE GRAND CANYON

AWARD-WINNING FINALIST:

National Best Books 2007 Award in the Travel:Guides Category!

2008 Benjamin Franklin Book Award in the Recreation/Sports Category!

Best First Book by New Publisher in the Arizona Book Publishing Association's 2008 Book Awards!

2008 Next Generation Indie Book Award in the Travel/Travel Guides Category!

Have you ever wondered just what it takes to hike into the Grand Canyon? It is one of the most spectacular natural wonders in the world, and the only way to really see it in all its splendor is by going below the rim. On a partly cloudy day when the clouds cause shadows to undulate in, out, and around the multi-colored rock formations it is incomparable in its beauty. To venture and explore into the canyon is to gain a fresh perspective that very few of the nearly five million visitors each year ever dare to undertake.

This book is a common sense guide written especially for the first time day hiker or backpacker wanting to explore the Grand Canyon. It includes information on the kind of equipment one needs, how to apply for permits, rules and restrictions, trail descriptions, and other tips - all geared to the most popular, easily accessible, and only maintained trails into the canyon - the Central Corridor Trails (Bright Angel, South Kaibab and North Kaibab Trails). All other trails into the canyon are considered wilderness (unmaintained) trails, require advanced route finding skills, and are not recommended for first-time canyon hikers. Currently, no other hiking book focuses exclusively on these most popular and accessible trails. Information in the book is presented by first time author Brian Lane in a clear, concise, and entertaining manner, featuring full color maps and over fifty photos, providing the reader with a real sense of what it takes to hike the canyon.

Hikernut's Grand Canyon Companion is a must read for anyone thinking about hiking into the canyon!

Also...be sure to visit the author's Grand Canyon Hiker's Blog for updated information at: aSenseofNature.com

The Devil's Cup: A History of the World According to Coffee

Stewart Lee Allen

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 15 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

One of my favorite books 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

I came across this book by accident and bought it out of my sheer love for coffee. But the book not only has the great tale of how coffee came from Africa and made it's way all over the earth to the daily drink we know today, it also is a first rate travelogue. The author follows coffee's migration from Africa to Europe. Mr. Allen has quite a knack for finding and reporting his adventures and misadventures with a fun easy to read style.

If you like non-fiction travelogues, then do yourself a favor and buy this book.

Editorial Review:

In this captivating book, Stewart Lee Allen treks three-quarters of the way around the world on a caffeinated quest to answer these profound questions: Did the advent of coffee give birth to an enlightened western civilization? Is coffee, indeed, the substance that drives history? From the cliffhanging villages of Southern Yemen, where coffee beans were first cultivated eight hundred years ago, to a cavernous coffeehouse in Calcutta, the drinking spot for two of India’s three Nobel Prize winners . . . from Parisian salons and cafés where the French Revolution was born, to the roadside diners and chain restaurants of the good ol’ U.S.A., where something resembling brown water passes for coffee, Allen wittily proves that the world was wired long before the Internet. And those who deny the power of coffee (namely tea-drinkers) do so at their own peril.

Imagineering Field Guide to Disney's Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World, The

Imagineers

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

The third in a series of pocket-sized paperbacks answers the question, "What would it be like to walk through Disney's Animal Kingdom Park with an Imagineer by your side?" The Imagineering Field Guide to Disney's Animal Kingdom provides that experience: pointing out details and telling stories, back stories, and Imagineering insights never before heard, condensed into a portable, easily-referenced park guide. You'll never spend time at Walt Disney World the same way again.

Each spread contains fascinating textual information and related images (drawings, photos, graphics) such as:

      Set-up, backgrounds, and origins of each park/land/mini-land

      Concept art to compare to the finished show

      Timeline information (opening dates, previous shows in the same venue,

Death in Yellowstone: Accidents and Foolhardiness in the First National Park

Lee Whittlesey

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 46 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Morbidly Interesting, and a Personal Note 4 out of 5 stars.
7 of 8 people found this review helpful.

The last decade has seen a slew of books dealing with deaths in the national parks. The authors assure us that they publish these volumes to warn visitors of the dangers they face in the parks. The reality of course is that many in the literate public are fascinated by death, especially in unusual or exotic circumstances, and these books cater to that morbid demand. Nonetheless, they make for interesting reading and serve as a cautious reminder that visits to the wilderness, while safer than certain neighborhoods in major metropolitan areas, still contain very real hazards. This volume by Lee Whittlesey, was one of the first in this genre, and is still one of the best.

From grizzly attacks to death by poisonous gasses and murders, Whittlesey exhaustively covers all known deaths in Yellowstone from before the founding of the park to 1995 when the book was published. For me the descriptions of people falling into the hot springs were by far the most riveting, and the most grusome, portions of the book. Cooked alive, the victims of these accidents rarely died quickly, but often instead lingered on for many hours, a pretty horrific way to go. Whittlesey also catalogs the many mistakes victims and some lucky survivors made to help visitors to the park avoid similar fates.

One thing that sets this book apart from others in this genre is that Whittlesey, in addition to experience as a park tour guide and ranger, is a lawyer. This background shows itself in various ways. The book includes, for example, extensive discussion of court cases that resulted from fatalities in Yellowstone and how they have influenced park management. It also shows in the author's broader philosophy about the deaths in the park. True accidents, he argues, are rare. For the most part, people who have died in the parks were, he argues, actually negligent when it came to their own safety and sometimes the safety of others. This attitude towards the victims shows itself throughout the book, and most of the time Whittlesey makes a pretty convincing case.

But not always. When discussing the 1986 death of William Tesinsky (by mauling from a grizzly bear) Whittlesey notes, "Bear 59 was a semi habituated bear, ... But she had never even approached a human aggressively." This is not entirely true. I should know, because I was chased by Bear 59 on June 20 of that very year while hiking (alone) between the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River and Yellowstone Lake. Indeed, it was my report to the Lake ranger station that led to the temporary closure of that trail, and the bear's eventual relocation by the Park Service. At that time, Bear 59 had two cubs and a large person walking nearby was, as the ranger explained to me, considered a threat. But 59 no longer had the cubs with her when she killed and partially ate the unfortunate Mr. Tesinsky. No doubt, as Whittlesey says, he was too close for 59's liking while trying to get the perfect photograph. But the retelling of this story, that follows the park's official report which I saw a few years later, is interesting in that it does not mention my earlier encounter with 59. Whittlesey the lawyer argues that, much as we don't want to admit it, negligence is more common than accident. He forgot to add that humans, including park rangers, might sometimes unintentionally omit certain bits of information that do not fit their preconceived notions.

(I asked a ranger about what had become of my incident report during a 1998 visit to the park. She said that it had not been included since the bear had not actually come into physical contact with me. I understand that answer, but it certainly does undermine the claim the bear had never before shown aggressive tendencies. In my case, I was unaware of her existence till I saw her charge out of the woods, two cubs at her heals, and easily 50 yards away.)

Editorial Review:

Intriguing stories of how people have died in Yellowstone warn about the many dangers that exist there and in wild areas in general.

RV Vacations For Dummies (Dummies Travel)

Harry Basch, Shirley Slater

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Highly Recommended for New RVers!! 5 out of 5 stars.
19 of 19 people found this review helpful.

A terrific book for anyone thinking about giving RVing a try. "RV Vacations for Dummies" opens with about a hundred pages of information on planning an RV vacation and about actually living in an RV. Some of the information in the first two parts of the book ("Getting Started" and "Ironing Out the Details") is a bit sketchy; however, it is more than adequate to get the traveler on the road. And that, after all, is really the point. Books are helpful in gathering the information needed to get started, but RVing is about "doing" . . . not just reading about "doing".

Our favorite parts of "RV Vacations for Dummies" are the 14 driving tours presented over nearly 200 pages in the latter part of the book. There is nothing like having a trip actually planned to stir up a severe case of "hitch itch" in the most experienced of RVers. The trips set forth in "RV Vacations" are enough to get even RVing "Old Timers" off of the sofa and onto the road.

We highly recommend this book for those new to RVing; however, even those with hundreds of thousands of RVing miles behind them will find value in these pages.

Editorial Review:

From New England to the Oregon Coast, from Texas to the Tetons, America is full of fascinating and friendly places and your RV is a great way to get to any one of them. This fun, friendly guide shows you how to get the most out of RV vacations with fun itineraries and handy tips on: Choosing the right route; picking the right RV for your budget; eating and sleeping comfortably on the road; and planning ahead for special travel needs.

The Official Guide to America's National Parks, 13th Edition (Special-Interest Titles)

Fodor's

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Editorial Review:

This completely updated guide is the ultimate tool for planning the perfect trip to one or more of America's 391 magnificent national parks. Focusing on the most trafficked parks as well as the lesser-known gems, this guide includes seashores, trails, wild and scenic rivers, battlefields, and historic sites.

Reviewed by the park rangers themselves, this is also the only guide officially endorsed by the National Park Foundation.

Coverage includes:

- All 391 sites under National Park Service jurisdiction, including three newcomers to the National Park system: African Burial Ground Designation National Monument in New York; Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site in Washington, D.C.; and Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site in Colorado

- Detailed regional maps and visitor information for effortless orientation and planning

- Selected reviews of what to see and do and where to camp and stay

- Tips on where to find food and supplies

- Advice on when to go and how to get there

Zion & Bryce Canyon National Parks

Jeff Campbell, David Lukas, John A Vlahides

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Wild, vast and rugged, Zion and Bryce Canyon are among America's most dramatic national parks, filled with towering cliffs, hanging gardens and a riot of surreal, rainbow-striped rock formations. Whether you want to hike narrow slot canyons or admire stunning views, our indispensable guide will help you explore these desert jewels, plus the best of southern Utah's other parklands.

• ROCK ON - view spires, arches, bridges and hoodoos, and learn what forces created this eerie desert landscape

• GET ACTIVE - hiking, canyoneering, mountain biking, rock climbing, river rafting, horseback riding and more

• EXPLORE FURTHER - with chapters on Canyonlands, Capitol Reef and Arches National Parks, plus Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and the outdoor mecca of Moab

• KID AROUND - recommended sights, activities and accommodations for the whole family

• REST EASY - camp under the stars, pamper yourself at a luxury resort or bed down at a working horse ranch

The Complete Guide to the National Park Lodges, 5th

David L. Scott, Kay W. Scott

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

I wish we had bought it earlier 5 out of 5 stars.
14 of 14 people found this review helpful.

I wish we had known about this book before last summer's trip to Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks. The Scotts not only offer advice on which lodges to choose, but also which rooms to request. If we had only known we would have requested one of the several rooms they suggest in the older section of Old Faithful Inn. Oh well, maybe next time. Buy this before you visit a national park.

meticulous research 5 out of 5 stars.
7 of 7 people found this review helpful.

This book was most helpful especially in the way it told what rooms to request based upon what your expectations are. Many lodgings have an extreme variety of room types and these are almost never spelled out for a customer in detail. Thank you for a job well done

Good Buy 5 out of 5 stars.
7 of 8 people found this review helpful.

An excellent guide to own if you are planning to visit and stay in a national park. We used it before booking reservations in Yellowstone, Grand Teton, and Glacier.

Editorial Review:

This book is an insider's guide to finding the best lodges throughout the country. Each entry includes firsthand information about each property, including room rates, handicap accessibility, reservation phone numbers, exact location within the park, transportation details, facilities, activities, and detailed maps.

Rocky Mountain National Park: The Complete Hiking Guide

Lisa Foster

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 21 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

An incredibly well-researched book 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I think the vast majority of us, even if we lived in Estes Park and had an idea to write such a book, would have given up when we grasped the enormity of hiking to every named destination in Rocky Mountain National Park (and several in the neighboring national forests). Lisa Foster didn't. Even though she was ill and often had to hike alone, she persevered. This was truly a labor of love, because not many of us are going to scale the Spearhead or numerous other destinations that require off-trail route finding and 3,500-plus elevation gains. The trail descriptions are very good, and Lisa does not seem to run out of adjectives to describe the splendor. That in itself is an accomplishment well worth noting. The photographs are also spectacular, giving the hiker an idea of the reward for huffing and puffing yourself up a mountain trail. (I've visited the park 16 times since 1995, and I always forget how difficult hiking can be.) Lisa, my hat is off to you.

Detailed, informative, comprehensive. 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Whether you are a serious hiker wanting to explore the remote regions of one of the treasures of the US Park system or just want a simple afternoon hike to see a little bit of Rocky Mountain National Park this book will provide all you need. It has excellent topo maps, great descriptions of the trails, lots of information on what to expect and lovely photographs to entice you on. It's printed on heavy, high quality paper in full color; it feels good to the hand. It would make a great gift for the friend who's heading off to explore RMNP!

Central Park, An American Masterpiece: A Comprehensive History of the Nation's First Urban Park

Sara Cedar Miller

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

A Gorgeous Book Commemorating America's 1st Public Park 5 out of 5 stars.
23 of 23 people found this review helpful.

Commemorating the 150th anniversary of Central Park, photographer and historian Sara Cedar Miller celebrates the aesthetic, cultural and historic significance of America's first public park with the book "Central Park, An American Masterpiece." This is the park's definitive illustrated history, and offers some of the most gorgeous photographs I have seen on the subject - a difficult task given the number of pictures that have been drawn, painted and photographed of the Manhattan landmark. The book includes over 200 color illustrations, original plans and drawings alongside modern photos, giving the viewer/reader an historical perspective.

Accompanying Ms. Miller's work, portraying the park throughout the seasons, is a well written text which highlights the conception and creation of the park and its art and architecture. This is a big, beautiful picture book that would make a wonderful addition to any home or library. It's a wonderful gift idea. I know as I have given it numerous times.

Ms. Miller is the parks official historian and photographer and has been since the mid-1980s.
JANA

Editorial Review:

To mark Central Park's 150th anniversary, this is a history of America's first urban park, a masterpiece of 19th-century landscape design. Sara Cedar Miller, official historian and photographer for the Central Park Conservancy, draws on extensive research to tell the story of the park's creation, placing it in the context of 19th-century American art and social history and illuminating the roles of its designers Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux and their associate Jacob Wrey Mould. Period photographs, plans and drawings combine with an authoritative text and contemporary photographs, which show the restored park's glory.